The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Federal Transport Authority (FTA) has said it has forbidden the MSC Joanna to enter its ports for a year and has banned its master from calling at UAE ports after the vessel entered its waters carrying 700tonnes of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in contravention of the carriage of fuels regulation enforced from 1 March 2020.
International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules prevent vessels that are not fitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) from carrying HFO, however, as the regulations have only just been imposed some vessels maybe left with residual fuel in their tanks and this fuel is proving difficult to get rid of.
Some countries allow the debunkering and disposal to take place in port, with the HFO being treated as waste oil. The 9200TEU MSC Joanna, however, had been warned to debunker the HFO before calling at Jebel Ali, but it did not heed the request according to the FTA notice.
