We explain the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) compliance through

analyzing both rational and moral factors for compliance motivation. According

to preliminary analysis based on samples and measurements, the compliance

rate for SECA is rather good and air quality has improved significantly. As

costs of compliance are rather high and penalties for non-compliance rather low

for regulation targets, moral motivation factors must be relevant for compliance.

Maintaining good relationships with control authorities and peers requires

shipowners to comply with the rules for practical and moral legitimacy. Our

interviews with Danish, Finnish and Estonian shipowners confirmed that most

of them follow the law simply because it is the law, this applying both to

current Baltic Sea SECA rules and the future global sulphur emission rules.

Obeying environmental law thus has a taken-for-granted status among shipping

companies. Almost half of the companies specifically mentioned they follow

the SECA rules because they want to take care of the environment, thus having

internalized the regulatory content. Some companies see global compliance to

depend on efficient controls.