UN agency OKs rule to cut air pollution from oceangoing ships off US, Canadian coasts

New rule cuts ship pollution around US, Canada

LOS ANGELES — A United Nations agency that regulates the international shipping industry adopted a plan Friday to dramatically reduce air pollution from ships that sail within 200 nautical miles of the U.S. and Canadian coasts.

The decision by the London-based International Maritime Organization 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 U.S. government’s jurisdiction often use heavy, sludge-like fuels with high levels of sulfur. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the regulation will 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 P. 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 $30,000 to a California port visit.

California is the only state that mandates ships within 24 nautical miles 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 as some ships entered restricted areas where Navy missile tests are conducted.

California port officials said the IMO ruling will allow the state to compete with North American rivals.

Under pressure to clean up emissions contributing to some of the nation’s 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.

Shippers and cruise companies initially opposed the new emissions control area on grounds that it sets arbitrary boundaries using faulty science and the switch to low-sulfur fuels would drive up costs.

After the IMO decision, though, they appeared to be softening their stance.

The Cruise Lines International Association said in a statement Friday it will obey regulators “in order to advance our mutual goal of protecting the health of individuals and the environment.”

The EPA estimates that it will cost about $3.2 billion to fully bring ships up to compliance by 2015.

Environmentalists said winds off the ocean can blow ship pollution hundreds of miles inland, so the new rule will improve the air for residents in every region of the country.

“This is a huge step for clean air that’ll bring better health to tens of millions of Americans,” said Rich Kassel, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s clean fuels and vehicles program.