PMSA lauds California legislature for passing SECA resolution

PMSA lauds California legislature for passing SECA resolution    The California Legislature has adopted a joint resolution calling for the creation of a North America Sulfur Emission Control Area to reduce air pollution near busy ports.
   Assembly Joint Resolution 8, by Assemblyman Joseph Canciamilla (D-Pittsburg), was introduced at the request of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association and co-sponsored by Bluewater Network. PMSA represents ocean carriers and terminal operators on the West Coast responsible for handling more than 90 percent of the containerized cargo that moves through West Coast ports.
   AJR8 calls for Congress to ratify treaty provisions, known as Annex VI of MARPOL 73/78, that will establish worldwide emission standards for ocean-going vessels. Additionally, it requests the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pursue creation of a North America Sulfur Emission Control Area (SECA) that would require all large ships calling on North American ports to burn cleaner low-sulfur fuel while at or near ports.
   AJR8 was approved by the state Assembly Thursday on a 70-1 vote. The resolution does not require the governor's signature and will be transmitted to Congress and the EPA.
   John McLaurin, president of PMSA, said that international treaties like MARPOL, overseen by the International Maritime Organization, are the fairest and most effective way of regulating a supply chain that operates on a global basis.
   In addition to reducing air pollution at ports throughout North America, creation of a North America SECA has the advantage of not putting any one port or region at a competitive disadvantage in terms of international trade, he said in a statement.
   'The enormous volume of international trade that flows through California ports is a major source of jobs and economic activity for our state,' McLaurin said. 'Our industry believes the creation of a North America SECA is a way to make significant improvements in air quality without jeopardizing our position as a leader in international trade.'
   McLaurin said a major beneficiary of a North America SECA would be the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are both grappling with air quality concerns.
   By requiring ships calling on North American ports to burn low sulfur fuel, the SECA would result in major decreases in oxides of sulphate (SOx), nitrogen (NOx) and diesel particulate matter (PM), emissions that have been associated with adverse health impacts.
   While the United States has ratified some portions of MARPOL, it has delayed ratification of Annex VI, which sets limits on nitrogen oxide emissions from ship exhausts, limits sulfur fuel content, and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting substances. It also allows signatories to create SECAs to further control emissions when ships are in ports and coastal waters. Currently, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea are proposed as SECAs under Annex VI.