The seventy-seventh session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 77) was held from 22 to 26 November 2021.
A summary of the discussions and the decisions taken at MEPC 77 is provided as below for your information.

1. Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emission reduction measures
Measures to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping have been deliberated at IMO, and so far, the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) and the Data Collection System for fuel oil consumption of ships (DCS) were introduced.
Further, at MEPC 72 held in April 2018, the Initial IMO Strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships, which includes the emission reduction target and the candidate measures to reduce GHG emissions, was adopted.

(1) Short-term measures for reduction of GHG
The initial IMO Strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships specifies the short-term target by 2030 for improved transportation efficiency of at least 40% compared to 2008. To achieve the short-term target, at MEPC 76, the amendments to MARPOL Annex VI were adopted to implement Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) as well as the related Guidelines were also adopted. Further, a Correspondence Group (CG) was established for the implementation of CII framework to develop/update Guidelines on SEEMP and DCS, correction factors for certain ship types for the CII calculations.
An interim report of the CG was submitted at this session and followings were agreed. For finalization of the above-mentioned Guidelines, CG will continue its work and final report of the CG will be submitted to MEPC 78.

- in cases where a ship holds multiple load line certificates, deadweight and/or gross tonnage to be used for calculation of the CII should be specified in DCS verification guidelines
- the correction factors should be applied in the calculation of the attained CII, and the CII value after correction should be used for rating purposes
- the attained annual operational CIIs as well as the parameters to calculate the correction factors etc. should be reported to IMO

(To be continued)