The Danish Mariime Authority (DMA) informs that a number of North Western European countries have made a commitment in Copenhagen to cooperate on making the control of ships’ sulphur emissions more efficient. The DMA describes the various countries' commitment as being an 'international musketeer' agreement [readers will call to mind Alexander Dumas's three musketeers and their "All for One and One for All" vow]. The background for the meeting was the new, stricter sulphur requirements that take effect on 1 January 2015. According to these provisions, ships must use low-sulphur fuel in the so-called SECAs in the future. Since this type of fuel is considerably more expensive than ordinary fuel, there will be a large economic incentive to bypass the regulations.
