CMA CGM Introduces Low Sulphur
Surcharge in China

Set to begin on November 15, 2018, French container shipping company CMA CGM will implement a low sulphur surcharge from/to the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo in China. The 0.5% sulphur limit is applicable to these ports since October 1, 2018.

According to CMA CGM, the move comes in an effort "to ensure the sustainability and reliability of our (CMA CGM's) services in a challenging environment."

Other ports in the People's Republic of China will also incorporate the 0.5% sulphur limit, applicable as of January 1, 2019. A few years ago, Chinese authorities decided to introduce sulphur limit for ships operating within three domestic emission control areas (ECAs). The country has been implementing in phases the low sulphur requirement for ships calling at its eleven core ports.

The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 73) adopted last week the MARPOL amendment to prohibit the carriage of non-compliant fuel oil on board ships. As of January 1, 2020, ships will be banned from burning any marine fuel with a sulphur content above 0.5 pct. The exception will be ships fitted with exhaust cleaning technology, the so-called scrubbers.

Number of Crew Members Held Hostage Increasing

The first nine months of 2018 saw a total of 156 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships according to a report by the ICC International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC). This is in comparison to 121 for the same period in 2017.

Out of the 156 incidents, 107 vessels were boarded, there were 32 attempted attacks, 13 vessels were fired upon and four vessels were hijacked. There were no vessels reported as being hijacked in the third quarter of 2018. According to IMB's PRC, this is first time since 1994 that no vessel hijackings have been reported in two consecutive quarters.

It was reported that the number of crew members held hostage increased in comparison to the same period in 2017-from 80 incidents to 112 by the third quarter of 2018.

"While the record low number of hijackings in the second and third quarters of 2018 is of course to be celebrated, incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery remain common. ICC urges governments to leverage the timely data available from the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre to concentrate resources in these hotspots," Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, said.

The Gulf of Guinea statistically accounts for 57 of the 156 reported incidents. While most of these incidents have been reported in and around Nigeria (41), IMB said that the Nigerian Navy has actively responded and dispatched patrol boats when incidents have been reported promptly. There has also been a noticeable increase in the number of vessels boarded at the Takoradi anchorage, in Ghana. Based on the IMB's reporter, 37 of the 39 crew kidnappings for ransom globally have occurred in the Gulf of Guinea region, in seven separate incidents. A total of 29 crew members were kidnapped in four separate incidents off Nigeria-including a 12-crew kidnapping from a bulk carrier off Bonny Island, Nigeria in September 2018.

In other world regions, incidents of piracy and armed robbery are comparatively a much less frequent occurrence. No new incidents have been reported off the coast of Somalia in the third quarter of 2018, while two fishermen were reported kidnapped off Semporna, Malaysia in September 2018.

Incidents in the remaining regions, including some Latin America countries, border on low-level opportunistic theft.