Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with the European Maritime Safety Agency on implementing sulphur reduction regulations.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Requirements under Directive 2012/33/EU – the sulphur content of marine fuels – came into force in the UK on 16 December 2014. Official level discussions between the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the Department on technical and operational aspects of the sulphur limits take place in the European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF). In addition, DfT and EMSA officials attend a comitology committee which considers legal matters arising from these requirements.

There have been no direct discussions between DfT Ministers and EMSA on the sulphur requirements.