To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many merchant vessels on the UK Ship Register use fuel which is compliant with the International Maritime Organisation’s 0.5 per cent cap on the sulphur content of shipping exhaust emissions from 1 January 2020.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of internationally registered merchant vessels using sea routes from UK ports that use fuel that is compliant with the International Maritime Organisation’s 0.5 per cent cap on the sulphur content of shipping exhaust emissions to be introduced on 1 January 2020.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of internationally registered merchant vessels regularly using sea routes from UK ports that use fuel that is compliant with the International Maritime Organisation’s 0.5 per cent cap on the sulphur content of shipping exhaust emissions to be introduced on 1 January 2020.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of internationally registered merchant vessels regularly plying trade on routes from UK ports that use fuel which is compliant with the International Maritime Organisation’s 0.5% cap on the sulphur content of shipping exhaust emissions to be introduced on 1 January 2020.

As the IMO 2020 requirements are not yet in force ships are not currently required to make use of compliant fuel and information on the use of 0.5% fuel is not being recorded. We would expect operators to begin moving into compliance in late 2019.

All ships which operate in ECA designated waters have been using 0.1 per cent sulphur fuel since 2015 or an equivalent means of compliance. Whilst in these waters, these ships would be meeting the requirements of the 0.5 per cent global cap.