With effect from September 1, 2020, the South Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries enforced a new series of environmental regulations relating to air emissions and OneOcean’s accurate, indispensable EnviroManager solution has been updated to accommodate every detail pertaining to these new measures.

Under South Korea’s revised air quality control programme, the areas of Incheon Port, Pyeongtaek, Dangjin, Busan Port, Ulsan Port, Busan (West) and the port of Gwangyang & Yeosu have been designated as Emission Control Areas (ECAs). All vessels must now use fuel with a maximum 0.1%m/m sulphur content when at anchor or berthing in these areas, or put approved equivalent arrangements in place. This fuel stipulation will be extended to cover all navigation within the ECAs from January 1, 2022 onwards.

Specific VSR (Vessel Speed Reduction) programs are also now being enforced, all of which have been updated in EnviroManager. These are applicable to whaling areas ranging from the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of St. Lawrence to bays and channels in the mid-Atlantic and off the north-eastern and south-eastern coasts of America. Additionally, EnviroManager covers a prohibition on the use of open-loop EGCSs, or scrubbers, and the discharge of EGCS wash water within the territorial waters of Oman.

Users wishing to confirm that the latest EnviroManager update has been implemented need only select EnviroManager’s Location mode and position the Location Pin close to Busan Port, South Korea, where the new and revised data will be displayed under the Air Emissions waste stream.