No excuses for "Green Wash" this year

25 January 2010

The Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association (EGCSA) has lauded the December EPA edict to accept the scrubbing technology.

The EGCSA said that the US' Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to accept exhaust gas cleaning systems as a viable means af reducing emissions is a clear directive for environmental leaders within the shipping industry to show their true "green credentials" in embracing all means of emissions reductions.

US EPA and Environment Canada confirmed at the end of December that the regulation will require all vessels operating within 200 miles of the US and Canadian coastlines to use fuels with either 0.1% sulphur levels or achieve the equivalent by alternative means.

EGCSA director Don Gregory said: "To have mandated a fuel-only solution would have been contrary to the IMO MARPOL Convention 73/78. Therefore, the EPA decision sends a clear message to the shipping industry that innovation and technology must be viewed as the most effective, viable and sustainable way of reducing sulphur oxide emissions."

There is fear among legislators and environment groups that the economic downturn will impact environmental compliance and corporate responsibility standards, despite organisations within the shipping industry raising their profile as environmental leaders.

Despite these misgivings, the EGCSA believed that the shipping industry will see that, in the case of scrubbing, installing units on ships makes sense.

Source: Latest Tanker Operator News, 14 January 2010