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Safeguarding the Seas

Published on www.bluewaternetwork.org

Safeguarding the Seas

Stopping the pollution of our oceans by ships and fast ferries and preventing deadly collisions with whales

Ship Emissions: Air Pollution Across the Ocean

Large ocean-going vessels - cargo and container ships, cruise ships, and oil tankers – are one of the fastest growing, least-regulated sources of air pollution in the United States. A single ship coming into New York harbor can release as much pollution as 350,000 current-model-year cars in one hour. In the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, cargo ships each day produce as many smog-forming emissions as 1 million cars.

These ship smokestacks release toxic emissions that lead to acid rain, global climate change, and damaging health effects to low-income communities situated near ports. Far greater than previously estimated, a 2003 study has found that large ships generate 30 percent of global nitrogen emissions – twice the previous estimates of 14 percent. The ships also produce 16 percent of sulfur emissions from all petroleum sources. In coastal cities such as Santa Barbara situated near shipping channels, ship emissions that blow onshore are larger than those produced by all cars and trucks on land.

Despite the fact that ships are more energy efficient than other forms of commercial transportation, marine engines operate on extremely dirty fuels. Most large ships use the dirtiest and least expensive diesel available. Known as bunker oil, this fuel is the collection of residue from the production of higher grade fuels and contains significant concentrations of toxic compounds banned from use in most other industrial and consumer applications. It is thick as asphalt and must be heated to be burned.
As more consumer goods are imported from China and Asia, cargo shipping is expected to double or even triple -- especially in high-traffic ports such as Oakland and Los Angeles -- by 2020. And as traffic increases, so does the threat to our oceans, marine life, and public health.

Bluewater Network believes that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the International Maritime Organization bear the responsibility for reducing pollution from these large vessels. Through legal action and advocacy, we lead efforts to force these agencies to create and implement the strictest air emission regulations possible. Bluewater Network settled a ground-breaking lawsuit against the EPA that required the agency to propose new air emission standards for ocean-going vessels, which were finalized in January 2003. However, influence from the Bush Administration resulted in near-meaningless new rules far weaker than what EPA originally proposed. So Bluewater Network has challenged the standards and is advocating for strong air quality standards to apply to both domestic and foreign-flagged ships stopping at US ports. We await a ruling on arguments heard in federal court in February 2004.

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