California clamps down on ships' sulphur - July 28, 2008
New California laws will force ships to use low-sulphur fuel, saving lives and reducing pollution on land according to the state’s Air Resources Board. The laws also open the door to a major legal brawl.
In steps beginning in 2009 ocean-going vessels within 24 nautical miles of California's coast will have to use lower-sulphur (or low-sulfur as they would say) fuels in their engines and boilers, in place of heavy and dirty bunker oil. The board says around 2,000 vessels will be subject to the rules, which will be the strictest in the world (press release).
“This regulation will save lives,” says board chairman Mary Nichols. “At ports and all along the California coast we will see cleaner air and better health.”
If the rules stand up to legal scrutiny they will have an impact across the whole of the United States. As the LA Times points out about 40% of all marine freight into the US comes through ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Whether it will stand up to legal scrutiny remains to be seen.
“International ships running in international waters under international treaties should be handled under international laws,” says T.L. Garrett, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. “We know it's the right thing to do. The question is, who should be telling us to do it?”
The Association believes California’s maximum jurisdiction is three nautical miles out (San Diego Union-Tribune).
This isn’t the first time the state has tried to get tough with shipping, as the NY Times notes:
Earlier this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a California rule that sought to regulate the engines that ships use to make electricity. The court ruled that under the Clean Air Act, only the federal government could impose such a regulation.
Image: Getty