The new sulphur standard being introduced by the European Commission for fuel in sea-going ships will cost industry millions and lead to unfair competition, Bernard Wientjes of the employers organisation VNO-NCW warned junior environment minister Joop Atsma on Monday.

The new standard, designed to limit the emission of sulphur by sea-going ships, will be introduced in 2015 in the North Sea and the Baltic Ocean.
It will be disadvantageous to the steel and paper industries because they are dependent on sea transport, news website nu.nl quotes Wientjes as saying.
Tata Steel (formerly Hoogovens) expects the extra cost to reach €18m a year. Paper manufacturers are afraid their prices will rise by €10 per ton.
The companies are not against the new standard per se, but want it introduced throughout Europe, says Wientjes.