Quality of Fuels (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 2012

L.N. 231 of 2012

MALTA RESOURCES AUTHORITY ACT

(CAP. 423)

AUTHORITY FOR TRANSPORT IN MALTA ACT

(CAP. 499)

MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT

(CAP. 234)

Quality of Fuels (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 2012

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 28(1) of the Malta

Resources Authority Act, by article 43(3) of the Authority for

Transport in Malta Act and by article 374(1) of the Merchant

Shipping Act, the Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs and the

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications, after

consultation with the Malta Resources Authority and the Authority

for Transport in Malta, have made the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Quality of Fuels Citation.

(Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 2012 and these regulations shall

be read and construed as one with the Quality of Fuels Regulations, S.L. 423.29

hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

In sub-regulation (2) of regulation 1 of the principal Amends

regulations for the words "and repealing Directive 93/12/EEC" there regulation

the principal

shall be substituted the words "and repealing Directive 93/12/EEC, regulations.

and to transpose Directive 2011/63/EU amending Directive 98/70/EC

and Commission Decision 2010/796/EU of 13 December 2010 on the

establishment of criteria for the use by liquefied natural gas carriers

of technological methods as an alternative to using low sulphur

marine fuels meeting the requirements of Article 4b of Council

Directive 1999/32/EC relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of

certain liquid fuels as amended by Directive 2005/33/EC of the

European Parliament and of the Council on the sulphur content of

marine fuels".

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 2 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a)

immediately after the definition "ASTM method"

there shall be added the following new definition

" "boil-off gas" means LNG vapors which are

produced during various stages of LNG production and

transport as a result of heat input and pressure variations,

and which is either re-liquefied and returned to storage, so

that it is then diverted to the boilers by pumping from

storage into the vessel tanks to be used as a fuel for marine

vessels, or compressed and exported as natural gas, which

is cooled down to atmospheric pressure, at which point the

gas condenses to a liquid, in order to facilitate transport;";

(b) the definition "competent authority" shall be

substituted by the following new definition

" "the competent authority" means the

Malta Resources Authority established by

article 3 of the Malta Resources Authority

Act;";

(c) immediately after the definition "ISO 14596 (1998)"

there shall be added the following new definitions

" "LNG" means liquefied natural gas which has

been converted to liquid form for ease of storage or

transport, and which for the purpose of these regulations, is

produced and used as a marine fuel for cargo vessels;

"Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier" means a

cargo ship constructed or adapted and used for the carriage

in bulk of liquefied natural gas as defined under the

International Code for the Construction and Equipment of

Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC) Code;";

(d) the definition "Malta Resources Authority" shall be

deleted; and

(e)

the definition "Member State" shall be substituted

by the following new definition

" "Member State" means a state which is a member

of the European Union;".

In the Maltese text of sub-regulation (1) of regulation 5 of

the principal regulations, for the words "ta’ l-Ewwel Skeda" there

shall be substituted the words "tat-Tieni Skeda".

Immediately

after

regulation

of

the

principal

regulations there shall be added the following new regulation

'' LNG carriers.

(1) LNG carriers shall use and

comply with the calculation criteria set out in

the Third Schedule to meet the objective on

reducing emissions from ships through an

alternative technological abatement method

by a mixture of marine fuel and boil-off gas.

(2)

The LNG carriers may use the

alternative technological abatement method

while at berth in Community ports, allowing

sufficient time for the crew to accomplish any

necessary measures to employ a mixture of

marine fuel and boil-off gas as soon as

possible after arrival at berth and as late as

possible before departure.

(3)

The achieved emission reductions

in sulphur emissions due to the application of

the method referred to in sub-regulation (2)

shall be at least equivalent to the reduction

that would be achieved through the limits of

the sulphur in fuel specified in these

regulations.

(4)

LNG carriers which use the

alternative technological abatement method

and call at ports under their jurisdiction are to

provide a detailed record in the ship’s log-

book, containing the type and quantity of

fuels used on board. For this purpose, these

ships shall be equipped for continuous

monitoring and metering of the boil-off gas

and marine fuel consumption.

(5)

The competent authority shall take

appropriate measures to monitor and verify

the use of the alternative technological

abatement method while at berth based on the

achieved emissions reductions provided by

LNG carriers.''.

6. The First Schedule to the principal regulations shall be Amends the

First Schedule

amended as follows

to the principal

regulations.

(a)

footnote numbered 1 shall be substituted by the

following

''1. Test methods shall be those specified in EN

228:2008. The competent authority may adopt the

analytical method specified in replacement EN 228:2008

standard if it can be shown to give at least the same

accuracy and at least the same level of precision as the

analytical method it replaces.''; and

(b) footnote numbered 5 shall be substituted by the

following

''5. Other mono-alcohols and ethers with a final

boiling point no higher than that stated in EN 228:2008.''.

7. Footnote numbered 6 of the Second Schedule to the

principal regulations shall be substituted by the following

''6. Test methods shall be those specified in EN

590:2009. The competent authority may adopt the

analytical method specified in replacement EN 590:2009

standard if it can be shown to give at least the same

accuracy and at least the same level of precision as the

analytical method it replaces.''.

8. Immediately after the Second Schedule to the principal

regulations, there shall be added the following new Schedule

''THIRD SCHEDULE

Regulation 12A

1. The formula

For the purpose of establishing equivalence within the meaning

of regulation 12A, the following formula shall be used

S F (%) · M F ≤ 0,1 % · M F0,1 %

Where

S F (%): percentage of sulphur content per unit of mass of

the marine fuel used,

M F : mass of the marine fuel consumed while the ship is at

berth in kg,

M F0,1 % : equivalent mass in kg of a fuel with a sulphur

content ≤ 0,1 %. This factor shall be calculated according

to the following formula

M F0,1 % = (M BOG · E BOG + M F · E F )/E F0,1 %

Where

M BOG : mass of the boil-off gas consumed at berth in kg,

E BOG : energy value of the boil-off gas used in MJ/kg,

M F : mass of the marine fuel consumed at berth in kg,

E F : energy value of the marine fuel used in MJ/kg.

E F0,1 % : energy value of a marine fuel with a sulphur

content ≤ 0,1 % in MJ/kg

Development 1 of the formula

The two formulas referred to above can be combined as follows

S F (%) · M F /(M BOG · E BOG + M F · E F ) ≤ 0,1 %/E F0,1 %

Development 2 of the formula

The formula can be further developed as follows

S F (%)/(R G/F · E BOG + E F ) ≤ 0,1 %/E F0,1 %

Where

R G/F :the ratio between the mass of boil-off gas and marine

fuel consumed at berth (M BOG /M F )

This second development can also be expressed in the following

R G/F ≥ (S F (%) · E F0,1 % - 0,1 % · E F )/0,1 % · E BOG

2. Application of the formula

Since the energy values of the different marine fuels involved in

the formula are largely similar, it is justified to use standard values for

E F0,1 % , E F and E BOG in order to simplify the application of the

formula in practice. More particularly, the following standard energy

values may be presumed to apply

E F0,1 % = 43,0 MJ/kg (source: DNV Petroleum Services)

E F = 40,8 MJ/kg (source: DNV Petroleum Services)

E BOG = 50,0 MJ/kg (ISO energy figure for methane)

The formula would accordingly be simplified as follows

R G/F ≥ 8,6 · S F (%) – 0,816

On this basis, the only value that needs to be introduced to the

formula to arrive at the required ratio between the mass of boil-off

gas and marine fuel consumed (R G/F or M BOG /M F ) is the sulphur

content of the marine fuel used while at berth. By means of examples,

the table below indicates the minimum ratio required to meet the

equivalence criteria for marine fuels with different sulphur contents.

Sulphur content (%)

1,0 %

1,5 %

2,0 %

2,5 %

3,0 %

3,5 %

M BOG /M F

7,8

12,1

16,4

20,7

25,0

29,3

".

€0.54