Americas News
Short Sea Shippers Want Smaller North American ECA
Paul Cozza, President of Beverly, Massachusetts headquartered CSL International (CSL), has told a House of Representatives Transport Committee that a 200 mile ECA is too stringent for the lower horsepower vessels used by coastal transporters such as CSL.
The North American emissions control area (ECA) will become enforceable in August 2012 and requires fuels with a maximum of 1% sulfur to be used with 200 nautical miles of the North American coasts of the United States, Canada and the French territories, subject to the sovereignty or jurisdiction of other States in which that boundary may cross.
By August 1, 2015, vessels operating within the ECA will be required to use an ultra-low 0.1% sulfur fuel.
Based on data from a CSL commissioned study, Cozza recommend that in 2015 the ECA be reduced to 50 miles for vessels of less than 20,000 horsepower as use of the low-sulfur fuel beyond that distance may not provide any appreciable environmental benefit.
"The ECA standards are far more strict than will be imposed anywhere else in the world, both in terms of the distance the ECA extends from shore and the level of permitted fuel sulfur content," said Mr Cozza.
"We are concerned the 200-mile ECA is too stringent for some vessels and may not provide any appreciable environmental benefit beyond 50 miles for lower horsepower ships, such as CSL's and those of other Short Sea Shipping companies."
Cozza also said that, "although well-intended, flaws in current ECA regulations will jeopardize the Short Sea Shipping sector".
The cost of using the ultra-low sulfur fuel will result in a "not insignificant increase in operating costs" for the shipper, and could cause a shift away from short sea shipping to shore-based rail and truck methods.
That would be counter productive to the aims of the ECA, with Cozza telling the the Committee that while a truck can carry one ton of cargo approximately 155 miles on a gallon of diesel fuel, and a train can transport that same cargo 413 miles, an average CSL vessel can move the cargo 1100 miles on the same gallon of fuel.
