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The Danish Shipowners' Association, the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark and the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs have concluded a partnership that aims to strengthen cooperation, represent Denmark's interests at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and contribute to maximizing the environmental advantages of stricter international requirements, while securing a level playing field for the industry.

The partnership agreement is an extension of a previous partnership between the Danish Shipowners' Association and the Environmental Protection Agency, but is now launched in a new version with participation from the Danish Maritime Authority.

The agreement is to be transposed into an action plan that contains initiatives aimed at the development of new technology and which also focuses on bunker fuel suppliers.

The action plan will list the common efforts to be made by Denmark to convince the rest of the world about the advantages of a homogeneous implementation and enforcement of environmental regulations.

The first activity of the partnership has been a conference hosted this week by the Danish Maritime Authority, which is focused on implementation and enforcement. Attending the event were companies involved in the 'Blue Denmark' maritime cluster - an initiative that aims to bring together talent and pioneering expertise within Denmark's shipping and offshore sectors as well as maritime technology and services.

"Blue Denmark can benefit greatly from the new global limits because we in Denmark are frontrunners when it comes to, for example, green maritime technology. And this creates growth and jobs for the benefit of the entire Danish society. At the same time, it is important that the Danish maritime industries and the authorities cooperate closely to promote enforcement of the regulations if we are to ensure the best possible competitive conditions," commented Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs Brian Mikkelsen.

Minister for Environment and Food, Esben Lunde Larsen, said: "Reduced air pollution will result in huge environmental and health gains. This will be brought about through the introduction of common international regulations and securing effective enforcement, and these are some of the goals to be aimed for by the partnership at the global level."

Even though stricter sulphur emission regulations of 0.1 percent are already in place in Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) - including Danish waters, the cap on the sulphur content of marine fuel in the rest of the world will be limited to 0.5 percent from 2020 following a recent decision by the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). Additionally, NOx emission control areas will be introduced in the North Sea and the Baltic in 2021, which in the future, means that new ships are required to emit 75 percent less NOx than previously.

Commenting on the issue of regulations, Anne H. Steffensen, Director General and CEO at the Danish Shipowners' Association, said: "The new environmental requirements are decisive for greener global shipping, but ahead of us is a large task ensuring that the provisions are met. This requires joined efforts by the authorities and the industry and, therefore, I am really pleased about the strengthened cooperation in the Partnership for Green Shipping."

"Other types of air pollution from ships, such as particle pollution, are frequently debated by international fora. It is easier to handle all these requirements and negotiations on the Danish part when the industry and the authorities have a fixed cooperation framework," The Danish Maritime Authority stressed.