Cargo ships would have to reduce their emissions under federal legislation approved by Congress, which President Bush is expected to sign into law, the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper reported Wednesday.
The Maritime Pollution Prevention Act cleared the House on a voice vote, the paper said, and authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to place limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and certain chemicals from thousands of U.S. and foreign-flagged vessels.
The bill passed the Senate two weeks ago, and the American Association of Port Authorities, which represents 160 public port authorities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, said it backed the measure.
“AAPA believes that an international process is the most effective for vessels, the majority of which are flagged in countries other than the U.S.,” AAPA President Kurt Nagle said in a statement.
“Considering that emissions from ocean-going ships are predicted to grow by more than 70% over the next 15 years, it’s imperative that meaningful and effective air emissions standards be adopted to improve air quality,” Nagle said.
Meanwhile, according to a new study of commercial vessel emissions, large cargo ships spew more than twice as much soot as previously estimated, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Commercial ships release some 130,000 metric tons of soot per year, or 1.7% of the global total, with much of it near highly populated coastlines, AP said, citing a report in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters.
