What explains SECA compliance: rational calculation or moral judgment?

Abstract

<p>We explain the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) compliance through</p><p> </p><p>analyzing both rational and moral factors for compliance motivation. According</p><p> </p><p>to preliminary analysis based on samples and measurements, the compliance</p><p> </p><p>rate for SECA is rather good and air quality has improved significantly. As</p><p> </p><p>costs of compliance are rather high and penalties for non-compliance rather low</p><p> </p><p>for regulation targets, moral motivation factors must be relevant for compliance.</p><p> </p><p>Maintaining good relationships with control authorities and peers requires</p><p> </p><p>shipowners to comply with the rules for practical and moral legitimacy. Our</p><p> </p><p>interviews with Danish, Finnish and Estonian shipowners confirmed that most</p><p> </p><p>of them follow the law simply because it is the law, this applying both to</p><p> </p><p>current Baltic Sea SECA rules and the future global sulphur emission rules.</p><p> </p><p>Obeying environmental law thus has a taken-for-granted status among shipping</p><p> </p><p>companies. Almost half of the companies specifically mentioned they follow</p><p> </p><p>the SECA rules because they want to take care of the environment, thus having</p><p> </p><p>internalized the regulatory content. Some companies see global compliance to</p><p> </p><p>depend on efficient controls.</p><p></p><p></p><p><br /></p>