Sooty vessels try to turn green
With pollution in ports a key contributor to US emissions, ferries and other harbor vessels look for new ways to operate.
from the June 7, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Other harbors may be following suit. Two years ago, the National Park Service gave "points" to companies that used green technology in bids to take passengers to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. The winning company, Alcatraz Cruises, a division of Hornblower Marine, expects to begin service at the end of 2008.
Terry MacRae, Hornblower's CEO, thinks the Solar Sailor concept is of use for only certain kinds of routes. "The technology is very expensive," he adds.
Yet however clean the ferries get, federal legislation may still be needed to clean up pollution from foreign-flagged ships. According to the US Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, many large oceangoing vessels burn fuel with a sulfur content of 27,000 parts per million.
On May 24, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D) and Dianne Feinstein (D), both of California, introduced legislation that would require vessels entering US waters to burn fuel with a sulfur content of 1,000 parts per million, unless the EPA says the technology for that is not available. Then, vessels would be allowed to burn oil with 2,000 parts per million.
The World Shipping Council, which represents many international ocean carriers, says it would prefer to see a global solution instead of unilateral rules. It says it is not opposed to tightening the standards. "There is currently in London a major effort to upgrade current standards, and the US has an aggressive proposal – similar to the Boxer legislation – in that process," says Don O'Hare, vice president of the council in Washington.
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