PONDICHERRY MARITIME ACADEMY

A Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) is an area that needs special protection through action by IMO because of its significance for recognized ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities. The criteria for the identification of particularly sensitive sea areas and the criteria for the designation of special areas are not mutually exclusive. In many cases a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area may be identified within a Special Area and vice versa. Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas  Guidelines on designating a "particularly sensitive sea area" (PSSA) are contained in resolution A.982(24) Revised guidelines for the identification and designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs). These guidelines include criteria to allow areas to be designated a PSSA if they fulfil a number of criteria, including: ecological criteria, such as unique or rare ecosystem, diversity of the ecosystem or vulnerab...

WHAT IS CARBON INTENSITY? In the shipping industry, carbon intensity is the measure of a ship’s GHG emissions relative to the amount of cargo carried over a certain distance. This metric is preferable to total carbon emissions as a measure of a vessel’s environmental impact because it controls for periods of inactivity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, total vessel GHG emissions briefly declined as more ships remained docked; this, of course, was due to a dip in supply chain productivity, not because of more efficient shipping. Carbon intensity, on the other hand, takes economic activity into account, providing a more realistic measure of the shipping industry’s progress toward a more sustainable future. OVERVIEW OF THE CARBON INTENSITY INDICATOR (CII): Regulators and other stakeholders in the maritime industry are intensifying their efforts to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping. The IMO, as the international regulatory body, set a Greenhouse Gas Re...