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India's Directorate General of Shipping - an office of the Ministry of Shipping - says it has initiated steps for the survey and inspection of Indian ships to ensure compliance with respect to the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP).

The IMO adopted mandatory measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. For this purpose a new chapter on the energy efficiency of ships was added to the Annex VI of the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). India is a party to this convention.

The new measures include the provision of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships, which will aim to improve the energy efficiency of vessels.

This information was given by Shri G.K. Vasan, the Union Minister of Shipping, in a written reply to a question in the lower house of the Parliament of India, or Lok Sabha, today.