Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has given his assurance that South Africa will have enabling legislation in place by the end of the year for the implementation of the IMO2020 sulphur cap that will be implemented on January 1, 2020.
This was among key concerns raised by industry and government during a recent two-day consultative workshop held in Cape Town in which the IMO was represented.
The new legislation demands that ships of all sizes will need to use fuel oil that meets the 0.50% limit from 1 January 2020. The 0.50% sulphur limit extends to carriage of bunker fuel with sulphur content of more than 0.50% for vessels not fitted with Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGSC). The carriage ban will come into effect on 1 March 2020.
“It (the legislation) will be in place. We’ve taken the matter to Cabinet and from Cabinet it will undergo the processes of public participation and before the end of the year we should be able to make those deadlines.”
