Calif. issues new ocean-going vessel fuel regulation

Calif. issues new ocean-going vessel fuel regulation California state air regulators on Thursday approved what are being called the world's most stringent emissions rules on oceangoing vessels.
   The new California Air Resources Board rules, to take effect in 2009, would mandate that oceangoing vessels burn low-sulfur diesel fuel in their main and auxiliary engines within 24 miles of the California coast. The rules would apply to the more than 2,000 international and Jones Act vessels that call at the state's commercial ports each year.
   In 2005, CARB enacted a similar rule for oceangoing vessels' auxiliary engines that was enforced for more than 14 months before being struck down on a legal challenge by the shipping industry. However, many shipping lines have continued to abide by the regulation on a voluntary basis.
   The new CARB rule must go out for a final 15-day public comment period before implementation, and CARB is not obligated to begin the comment period at any certain time. In some cases CARB can wait months before starting the comment period. In December 2007, CARB approved a regulation calling for mandatory on-dock, shore-to-ship electrical power at California ports, but the agency has yet to put the regulation out for its 15-day comment period.
   Industry watchers do not expect the new fuel rule to go to its comment period until sometime after October, when the International Maritime Organization is set to issue new international guidelines on vessel emissions that may overlap the CARD regulations.