A UN agency that regulates the international shipping industry adopted a plan on Friday to dramatically reduce air pollution from ships that sail within 370km of the US and Canadian coasts.
The decision by the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) establishes an emissions control area and requires all oceangoing ships, including oil tankers, cargo vessels and cruise ships, to use cleaner fuel within the zone.
The rule, which was proposed by the two nations a year ago, will become enforceable in August 2012. The designation extends to eight major Hawaiian islands and some French island territories.
Up to now, ships that fall outside the US government’s jurisdiction often use heavy, sludge-like fuels with high levels of sulfur. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the regulation would force ships to use pricier, more-refined fuel that cuts sulfur levels by 98 percent, thereby slashing by up to 85 percent nitrogen oxide emissions and soot pollution that are linked to asthma and cancer.
“This is a change that will benefit millions of people and set in motion new innovations for the shipping industry,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.
“The sulfur, particulate emissions and other harmful pollutants from large ships reach from our ports to communities hundreds of miles inland — bringing with them health, environmental and economic burdens,” she said. “Cleaning up our shipping lanes will be a boon to communities across North America.”
The California Air Resources Board estimates that the fuel requirement typically will add US$30,000 to a California port visit.
California is the only state that mandates ships within 44km of the coast to burn cleaner fuel. The rule, which took effect last summer, forced ships heading to California ports to switch from burning so-called bunker fuel to low-sulfur fuel as they enter the buffer zone.
The mandate prompted many vessels heading to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to take a shortcut route to save on using the costlier fuel. The different traffic pattern caused safety concerns because some ships entered restricted areas where Navy missile tests were conducted.
California port officials said the IMO ruling would allow the state to compete with North American rivals.
Under pressure to clean up emissions contributing to some of the US’ worst air quality, officials of the giant Long Beach and Los Angeles port complex had also imposed cargo fees to help pay for cleaner trucks that haul goods in and out, raising worries that ships might go elsewhere.
“All vessels will have to comply with the same regulation. It levels the playing field, and we will no longer be putting our port at a competitive disadvantage” said Bob Kanter, managing director of environmental affairs and planning at the Port of Long Beach.
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