Strategies on the Implementation of the Collection and Reporting of Fuel Oil Consumption Data Based an MARPOL Annex VI: A Malaysian Case Study

Abstract

Collection and reporting of ship fuel oil consumption data for ships of 5,000 gross tonnage (GT) and above have been made mandatory from calendar year 2019 onwards on an annual basis by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is one of the global standards under the Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). However, according to the IMO, not all potential 135 Administrations have submitted their data. Since Malaysia is amongst the active Administrations who have submitted the data, it is used as the case study to gauge the implementation of the collection and reporting of this fuel oil consumption data from ships. Thus, based on Malaysia's current implementation and challenges faced throughout the implementation, this study aims to propose strategies in ensuring that the implementation of the collection and reporting of ship fuel oil consumption data by other Administrations is in conjunction with the IMO convention. The implementation was made under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 (MSO52) through the issuance of Malaysia Shipping Notice (MSN). Recognised Organisations (ROs) were appointed and authorised on behalf of the government of Malaysia to collect, verify, and report the required data to the IMO. The findings of this study suggest that the MARPOL Annex VI should be incorporated into the National Laws, ROs should be appointed for collection and reporting of ship fuel oil consumption data, and clear methodology should be established on collection and reporting of ship fuel oil consumption data. Hence, there is an urgent need for Malaysia to strengthen its implementation and enforcement on the provisions of MARPOL Annex VI. There is also a necessity to monitor the performance of Malaysia’s shipping carbon emission and its contribution in reducing the total annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions set by the IMO by 2050.

Keywords: Strategy, MARPOL Annex VI, fuel oil consumption data, collection and reporting, International Maritime Organization, Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952, Malaysia, case study