The German Shipowners' Association (VDR) endorses the resolution adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to make it mandatory in future for all vessels to record their CO2 emissions.

"In Paris, the community of states reached a consensus in December on climate protection targets within national borders – now the IMO member states have adopted the same policy for vessels sailing the global seas," said Ralf Nagel, Chief Executive Officer of the VDR. "The fact that all states on the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) have adopted the mandatory CO2 data collection policy despite the controversial discussion involved once again underscores the ability of the IMO to act as a global legislator for maritime shipping."

The resolution provides for shipping companies to transmit data on fuel consumption, distances travelled and the number of operating hours of their vessels via the respective flag state of the ships to the IMO in London for evaluation purposes.

"It's important first of all to have the CO2 data of all ships collected and analysed by the IMO. Only if we have sound, solid data does the discussion really make sense regarding suitable objectives and measures to reduce the already low CO2 footprint of maritime shipping even further," said Nagel.

The official acceptance of the addendum to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) by the MEPC in October is considered to be a mere formality.

Mandatory climate protection regulations already apply to maritime vessels. According to the relevant rules, newbuilds will need to meet ever increasing efficiency standards step by step and will be using 30% less fuel per ton-kilometre from the year 2025. Additional factors are parameters laid down for energy-efficient ship operation.

Maritime vessels are the most efficient means of transport available. With ships reflecting an average age of nine years (world fleet: 14 years), German shipping companies are reported to have one of the world's most modern maritime fleets.