Finland Times

The government has decided to extend financial support to the shipping companies to ease adaptation to sulphur emission limits with the view to keep the environment free from pollution.

The government on Thursday brought an  amendment to the Decree on investment aid improving the level of environmental protection of ships, which comes into force on 1 April 2013, significantly benefit the environment, said a government press.

With this amendment, the scope of aid is extended so that it may also be granted to ships which are already in use. The environmental standards of shipping have changed and shipping companies will in the coming years be subjected to new requirements concerning the reduction of sulphur content of fuel, in particular. The current government decree on environmental investment aid to vessels only covers investments in new ships.

Following entry into force of the amendment, aid can be targeted at retrofitting vessels with emission abatement technologies, in particular sulphur scrubbers. Investment aid may be granted to technical solutions which enable introducing alternative fuels or reducing emissions from fuels.

Within the aid scheme approved by the EU, State aid to sulphur scrubber retrofitting operations may total a maximum of 50 per cent of the costs included in the project.

The 2013 Budget allocates a EUR 30 million by the Ministry of Transport and Communications for the purpose of granting environmental aid to ship investments. The Budget Authority is aimed at subsidising investment costs of retrofitting operations which improve the level of environmental protection of ships already in use.