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Working to Clear the Air in the Gulf of Mexico
Switching from high-sulfur fuel to low-sulfur fuel has been proven as an effective means of reducing air emissions near land. By decreasing the impact of particulate matter from shipping emissions, switching from high to low-sulfur fuel can have a positive impact on public health in U.S. coastal areas.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of fuel-switching, in November 2009, EPA partnered with the Port of Houston Authority and Maersk Line, the first port and first shipping company to demonstrate fuel switching in the Gulf of Mexico.
About the Project
- The fuel switching demonstration will be carried out on the Maersk Roubaix, a smaller vessel which can carry 1118 twenty-foot shipping containers.
- The Roubaix’s propulsion engine and auxiliary engines normally run on bunker fuel with a sulfur content of 2.7 percent.
- In this demonstration, a low-sulfur (0.1 percent) distillate marine diesel fuel will be used within 24 nautical miles of the U.S. and Mexican coastlines as the ship approaches each port.
- This is likely to greatly reduce SOx and PM emissions in both areas.
EPA estimates that fuel switching will result in reducing local air pollution and its burden on public health by producing more than a 95 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide (SOx) and an 85 percent reduction in fine particulate matter (PM).
This specific project was designed to be an example of the effectiveness of using lower-sulfur fuels in ocean-going vessels, and will calculate and report the air pollutant emissions reductions achieved by switching from high to lower sulfur marine fuel. The partnership is optimistic that there will be significant emission reductions in ports in the Gulf of Mexico where the test vessel will dock – the Port of Houston and the Port of Progreso, Mexico.
In an effort to better protect our coastal and inland areas from ship air pollution, the United States and Canada have applied to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish an Emission Control Area (ECA). By 2015, this U.S.-Canada ECA will require lower sulfur fuels be used when ships are in waters within 200 nautical miles of the U.S. or Canadian Pacific, Atlantic, or Gulf coasts, the eight main Hawaiian Islands, and the southeast coast of Alaska. All ships operating in the designated ECA will be required to use engines that meet the most advanced technology requirements for NOx emission controls as of 2016, and to use 0.1 percent sulfur marine fuels (fuel with sulfur content at or below 1,000 ppm) as of 2015.
Designation of this ECA will deliver substantial public health benefits to many people living in the U.S. and Canada, as well as to marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The ECA is projected to avoid as many as 14,000 premature deaths, provide relief from respiratory symptoms for nearly five million people each year, and provide over $110 billion in health-related benefits by 2020.
Mexico has not yet applied to establish an ECA, but has expressed interest in participating. This project will also help Mexico demonstrate the environmental benefits of joining the ECA.
For more information, read the EPA Region 6 Press Release on this item.
Links:
More information on the ECA: http://www.epa.gov/OTAQ/oceanvessels.htm
EPA’s Clean Ports USA: http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/ports
EPA’s International Programs: http://www.epa.gov/international
Maersk Line’s environmental policies and initiatives: http://www.maerskgreen.com
Port of Houston Authority: http://www.portofhouston.com
Regional environmental activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6
Back to: International Air
Contacts
For additional information on EPA's Climate and Energy Program, contact:
Anthony Socci
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of International Affairs (2670R)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
E-mail: socci.anthony@epa.gov
202-564-6600
