Progress at the IMO - EEDI and SEEMP adopted by vote at MEPC 62

Following a nearly four and a half day long debate, the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) recently amended MARPOL Annex VI to include the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP).
During the plenary session of the MEPC’s 62^nd session (from 11^th-15^th of July 2011), the changes were voted into effect by the MARPOL signatory states with 48 votes for and 5 votes against the measure. The five states opposing the adoption of the EEDI and SEEMP were Brazil, China, Chile, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Interestingly, Indiaand South Africa, who both opposed the adoption of the EEDI in the preceding discussions, did not vote against the measure. The results of the vote mean that the EEDI and the SEEMP will enter into force on the 1^st of January 2013. 

Both the EEDI and SEEMP are intended to improve the energy efficiency of vessels and to reduce the overall amount of CO₂emissions produced by the shipping industry. The EEDI is a technical measure, whereby newly built vessels must attain a level of energy efficiency, in terms of CO₂ emitted per unit of transport work, better than a set reference level. The choice of how to accomplish this is left to the ship designer and builder. The SEEMP is a ship-specific management plan for use by operators to improve the energy efficiency of their ships in daily operation. The SEEMP will be required onboard every affected ship and is to be developed taking into account IMO guidelines.