Thursday, May 16th, 2013
SEOUL, KOREA - Beginning in 2015, shipbuilders will be required to cut more than 10 percent of carbon dioxide emissions when building ships weighing more than 400 tons. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said on May 14 that it would implement a newly revised regulation on preventing ocean pollution from ships beginning on the 15th. According to the new proposal, vessels to be built from 2015 must be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 10 percent from the current level of the energy efficiency design index.
The EEDI, an index quantifying the amount of carbon dioxide that a ship emits in relation to the goods transported, has been defined last year in an international agreement under the International Maritime Organization framework. According to the agreement, ships to be constructed after 2020 must comply with the requirement that the emissions be cut by more than 20 percent, followed by more than 30 percent starting in 2025.
The vessels such as gas and oil tankers, containerships, and refrigerated cargo containers weighing more than 400 tons will be under the new regulation while those made prior to 2015 won't be subject to the requirement.