3.2 EU law requirements
The air emission and fuel quality standards of MARPOL Annex VI have subsequently been implemented at EU level, in Directive 1999/32 on relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels, as amended by Directives 2005/33 and 2012/33. The requirements have recently been codified through Directive 2016/802 (1) Directive 2016/802 relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels, OJ 2016 L132, p. 58. (hereafter referred to as ‘the Sulphur Directive’ or ‘the Directive’), which did not change the substance of the instrument, but altered its numbering. The Directive reiterates the MARPOL requirements on maximum sulphur content ships’ fuels, within and outside SECAs, and includes certain additional requirements that are not relevant for present purposes. (2) A purely regional requirement in the Directive is the requirements on passenger vessels in article 6(5), which requires "passenger ships operating on regular services to or from any Union port" to use fuel with a sulphur content of 1.5% or less until 1 January 2020. In view of the more stringent requirements that apply for all ships in SECAs, this requirement finds no application in those areas. It also requires, since 2005, all ships at berth in an EU port to use fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.1%. (3) Article 7 of the Directive, which makes exception for ships which use shore-side electricity in ports only and for ships which, according to a published timetable, are due to at berth for less than two hours.
The use of approved exhaust gas cleaning technologies, notably ‘scrubbers’, together with high-sulphur fuel, shall still be permitted under article 8 of the Directive, provided that the continuous reduction of sulphur content is at least equivalent to the fuel quality requirements of MARPOL Annex VI.(4) The requirements in MARPOL Annex VI, regulation 14 do not mention this alternative method of compliance, but more generally flag state administrations are authorised to approve alternative methods for complying with the Annex (regulation 4). The use of scrubbers has been foreseen in various guidelines adopted by the IMO, including notably the guidelines referred to in note 9 above. There are various types of scrubbers, but all of them represent a significant investment cost for ship operators who choose that compliance option. Their installations is not possible in all ships, however.(5) See e.g. American Bureau of Shipping, 'Exhaust Gas Scrubber Systems, Status and Guidance, 2013, available at http://ww2.eagle.org/content/dam/eagle/publications/2013/Scrubber_Advisory.pdf