Americas News
Further Bunker Checks On the Way for Ships in California
California is preparing to introduce additional checks on bunker fuel specifications for ships operating in its waters.
From May of this year the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will start extra checks on fuel samples, insurance association the Standard Club said this week, citing CARB guidance to its staff.
Ships operating within 24 nautical miles of California are required to use 0.1% sulfur distillate fuels, and the CARB plans to start checking whether they are using 0.1% sulfur residual fuels instead.
The restriction to using distillates stops shipowners from using any residual fuels with a low sulfur content.
"According to studies, the use of distillate fuel vs. lower sulphur residual grade fuel considerably reduces the formation of directly emitted particulate from diesel engines," Standard Club said in a report published on its website on Friday.
"CARB staff will therefore perform additional analysis of the collected fuel samples in accordance with ISO 8217 which will be used to determine whether the fuel meets the specifications of distillate grade fuel."
The increased checks were originally mooted last year.
