Using ‘wrong’ fuel can land vessel owners in Singapore jail

SINGAPORE: Singapore has a message for shipping companies considering cheating on rules starting next year to combat pollution to save a few dollars on their fuel bills: Don’t.

Captains and owners of vessels that burn overly-sulphurous fuel in the country’s territorial waters could face as long as two years in prison from next year, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

If enforced, such a penalty would probably be among the strongest deterrents yet to dodging regulations that are supposed to cut emissions of a pollutant blamed for asthma and acid rain.

From next year, the ships must emit 85 per cent less sulphur in most parts of the world than they do in most places today.

The world’s second-biggest port said ships that failed to use an approved abatement technology, such as a scrubber, alternative fuel or compliant fuel, would also be considered non-compliant.

The MPA didn’t clarify precisely what rule infringement would incur a prison sentence.

Other penalties include a fine of up to S$10,000 (RM30,157).

Based on precedent in the United States, the harshest penalties would likely be imposed if there were exacerbating factors like falsification of documents or obstructing justice, according to Magdalene Chew, a director at AsiaLegal LLC, and Wole Olufunwa, a senior associate at Holman Fenwick Willan, here.

“Presumably, this may be used as a yardstick comparison for what penalties imposed for breach of the sulphur cap may look like,” said Chew and Olufunwa, who specialise in shipping at the law firms, in a joint email.

The most severe penalty Singapore ever imposed for breaches of maritime air pollution regulations was more than two decades ago, said Chew and Olufunwa.

Then, the vessel’s owners, master and agents, who all pleaded guilty, were fined S$400,000.