California - Regulation to Reduce Sulphur Emissions

September 2006

The State of California is going to begin enforcement of a reduced emissions regulation in January 2007. The new regulation requires vessels to reduce the pollution from auxiliary diesel engines or diesel electric engines through the use of cleaner marine distillate fuels or equivalent emission controls. The regulation requires vessels that enter California Regulated Waters (approx. 24 nautical miles off the coast of California) to comply with the provisions of the regulation. By January 1st 2007, all existing vessels will have to ensure that they use a marine gas oil or marine diesel oil at or below 0.5% sulfur in their auxiliary diesel engines and diesel electric engines while in the 24 nautical mile zone. By January 1st, 2010 this regulation will only allow .1% sulfur fuel oil. This regulation only refers to and will only apply to the vessel’s auxiliary engines and does not apply to the vessel’s main engines. 

Vessels will be required to keep a record of the date, time, and location when they enter and leave California waters and when they switch fuels if they switch fuels to comply with the regulation. The vessel must keep records of the type of fuel purchased, sulfur content of the fuel and types of fuel used in the engines subject to this regulation while in California waters. It is ECM’s recommendation that vessels calling California simply record these details in their existing engine log book as means of maintaining such records. 

Vessels may comply with the regulation through alternative means, such as shore-side electrical power or exhaust emission controls. Vessels must submit an application demonstrating that the alternative strategies used will result in emissions no greater than allowed if the vessel used the specified fuel. The vessel must have the application approved before the alternative means of compliance can be used.

Vessels may pay a noncompliance fee in lieu of compliance under the following circumstances: unplanned redirection to a California port, inability to purchase complying fuel, inadvertent purchase of defective fuel, or inability to schedule vessel modifications in time for compliance. The noncompliance fee is applied to each port visit at a rate of $32,500 for diesel electric vessels and $13,000 for all other vessels for the first call. These rates increase on a sliding scale so that the fourth port call would be charged at a rate of $130,000 for diesel electric vessels and $52,000 for all other vessels. 

 

Based on information supplied by ECM Maritime Services.