China's Yangtze River Delta ECA to Cut SOx by 18%, Fine Particulate Emissions by 10%

The government says it will work with fuel suppliers to ensure that fuel compliant with the new ECA regulations is available at affected ports.

New Emission Control Area (ECA) rules for China's core Yangtze River Delta ports are expected to reduce fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions by 10 percent and sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions by 18 percent in the region during implementation of the regulations' first phase, local media reports.

As Ship & Bunker has previously reported, China's Ministry of Transport has announced that new ECA rules requiring fuel with a maximum 0.5 percent sulfur content to be used when at-berth in Yangtze River Delta core ports beginning April 2016, including Shanghai, Zhoushan, Ningbo, Suzhou, Zhanjiagang, and Nantong.

Shanghai's transport commission says that shipping emissions can be credited for 8 to 10 percent of the area's current PM2.5 pollutants.

It is reported that in the second phase of the ECA regulations, in which the 0.5 percent sulfur rule applies not just at berth but when operating throughout the ECA zone, PM2.5 emissions will see a decrease of more than 60 percent and SOx emissions by almost 80 percent.

The government will work with fuel suppliers to ensure that low emission fuel will be available at port facilities so that vessels can meet the new requirements, says Gao Yiyi, a transport commission official.

"It is inadequate for Shanghai to fight alone," Zhang Quan, director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, said last month of the new Yangtze River Delta regulation.

In December, Ship & Bunker reported that the Chinese Government had announced the establishment of the first Asian ECAs within its waters, putting a 0.5 percent sulfur content cap on bunkers used within the zones.