Alaska Marine Lines says it already meets ECA standards
The barge service Alaska Marine Lines says it did not have to make any operational changes as a result of the introduction of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) at the start of August as it was already using ECA compliant fuel in its vessels, the Juneau Empire reports.
Since August 1, 2012 all ships operating within the ECA must use a marine fuel with a sulfur content not exceeding 1.00% by weight, and Dave Curtis, vice president of marketing for the company, said it already uses diesel that meets that standard.
"The diesel fuel we burn and the engines we burn it in already meet [Emission Control Area] rules," Curtis said. "We are using diesel that is cleaned up, that has had a lot of the sulfur removed."
Even though Alaska Marine Lines isn't directly affected by the new requirements, Curtis argues that enforcement of the standards is bad for the state as a whole.
"When the cruise industry is impacted, it impacts all of us," Curtis said. If ticket prices go up, cruise passengers purchase fewer goods, which results in fewer goods to ship, he said.
From 2015 the rules tighten and the sulfur content of marine fuels used inside the ECA, effectively a 200 nautical mile zone off the U.S. and Canada coastline, must not exceed 0.10% by weight.
The State of Alaska has sued Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other defendants, arguing the ECA's extension to Alaska should be set aside.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that it estimates that the overall cost of the ECA at $3.2 billion in 2020 and in that same year it estimates the monetised health-related benefits in the U.S. to be up to $110 billion.