New directive will affect mining vessels off the shore of Namibia

In 2020, the International Maritime Organisation will implement a low sulphur fuel directive (LSFD) that will impact on the availability of fuel for ships and mining vessels off the coasts of African countries, including Namibia. The LSFD will require ships to use low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO), which has a sulphur content of less than 1.5% (as compared with regular marine fuel oil/heavy fuel oil which has a sulphur content of 3%). The directive is being introduced to curb the environmental impact that ships and large mining vessels have.