P&I Club GARD is warning that California’s new regulation designed to further reduce pollution from vessels berthed at its ports is now in force and will apply to visiting vessels from 2023, and tankers from 1 January 2027
“While compliance by visiting vessels is not required until 2023, the practices, procedures and equipment needed for compliance could be quite extensive and costly, and the preparatory work to ensure timely compliance should not be postponed,” warned GARD in a loss prevention notice.
As previously noted in Tanker Shipping & Trade, when it comes to pollution laws, where California leads, other US states and other nations tend to follow.
California already has some of the strictest regulations on tanker activities, including the release of fumes, and introducing cold ironing will be a challenge.
GARD states that California’s new regulation Control Measure for Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth has now been approved by the state’s Office of Administrative Law and took effect on 1 January 2021.
The new control measure replaces the state’s previous regulation on Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Auxiliary Diesel Engines Operated on Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth in a California Port and is designed to further reduce the public’s exposure to air pollution generated by vessels berthed at California’s busiest ports.
GARD notes that the implications are that under the new control measure, almost all tankers will be required to use a CARB-approved emissions control strategy that achieves at least an 80% reduction in auxiliary engine emissions during a stay at berth. This includes tankers’ auxiliary boilers.
Shore power is the most likely option, although emissions capture and control systems are an option.
The regulations can be downloaded here.
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