Enforcement of the 2020 sulphur limit for marine fuels: Restrictions and possibilities for port States to impose fines under UNCLOS

Sulphur pollution emanating from the exhaust gases of ships has a negative impact on the environment and on human health, in particular resulting in early deaths and child asthma. On 1 January 2020, international regulation lowering the allowed amount of sulphur in marine fuels will come into force. However, compliance with, and effective enforcement of, this regulation is very uncertain due to the vast savings that shipowners can achieve by not complying. The lack of effective and deterring fines is often attributed to the lack of jurisdiction when a violation takes place on the high seas. This article aims to provide an analysis of the special jurisdictional basis codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for port States to assert jurisdiction over violations of the strengthened 2020 sulphur limit on the high seas, encompassing the right to impose dissuasive fines.