The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed on Monday (30th March) that it will attempt to establish an area in the US where stringent pollution limits apply to shipping activities.

Lisa Jackson, the body's Administrator, announced at a news conference in Port Newark that the country is to request an Emission Control Area (ECA) from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Researchers have estimated that the creation of such a zone could significantly reduce the levels of particulate pollution - currently responsible for around 60,000 deaths per year globally - in US coastal areas.

Commenting on the news, Captain Charles D Connor, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Lung Association, said: "In my career as a US Navy Captain, I saw first-hand the staggering amounts of pollution that cruise ships, container ships, tankers and other ocean-going vessels released into the atmosphere.

"Their smog- and soot-forming emissions threaten the health of those living far from our nation's maritime ports."

The move comes after a new report, entitled Protecting American Health from Global Shipping Pollution, found that 87 million Americans live in port areas which fall below federal air quality standards.

New IMO regulations state that ships in ECAs must only have fuel with 10,000 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur by August 2012 and 1,000 ppm by January 2015 - in comparison to the standard concentration of roughly 27,000 ppm.

In addition, the requirements - which were introduced in October 2008 - demand that ships achieve an 80 per cent reduction in smog-forming oxides of nitrogen from 2016 onwards.

EPA research suggests that ocean-going US ships emitted 745,000 tonnes of such gases in 2001, with 450,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 54,000 tonnes of fine particulates.

If the ECA is established when the IMO makes its final decision in July 2010, it could accelerate the introduction of fuel cell-based ships, the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) reported yesterday.

The merchant ship industry, which accounts for about four per cent of global CO2 emissions, was thought to be 30 years away from adopting hydrogen power on a wholesale basis.

However, an ETA spokesperson said: "This ban on dirty ships will be a powerful incentive to quickly introduce cleaner technology."

Sources:

Protecting American Health from Global Shipping Pollution (30/03/09)
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-30-2009/0004996945&EDATE=

Shipping ban may prompt fuel cell technology (01/04/09)
http://www.eta.co.uk/Shipping-ban-may-prompt-fuel-cell-technology/node/11949