US port urges ship emissions cut as traffic surges

SHENZHEN, China, Nov 3 (Reuters) The US Port of Tacoma is urging the global shipping industry to curb vessel emissions as the world's fleet expands at breakneck pace to meet soaring demand for ships to move goods across oceans.

Timothy Farrell, executive director at Washington's Port of Tacoma along the west coast, told Reuters today the industry should act now and not wait until ship emissions become a problem, limiting port expansions or forcing governments to impose regulations.

Most experts are now convinced global warming is caused by burning fossil fuels, rather than a natural cyclical phenomenon.

With globalisation proceeding apace, ocean traffic is expected to expand for years to come. Emissions from ships are emerging as a serious problem at busy ports because they burn bunker fuel: low-priced, heavy oil.

One concrete solution was to clean up emissions before they left ships, Farrell said on the sidelines of a shipping conference in Shenzhen, which has become a worldwide manufacturing centre.

''If we wait, the governments impose solutions. We could have solutions in every different country. And that will be very costly and inefficient,'' he said.

''We don't have to invent any new knowledge. We know what the nature of the problem is. So we can solve it.'' Shipowners and operators should look into installing filters similar to those used at coal-fired power stations in the United States, he said. No cargo ships now carry such equipment on board, although passenger cruisers were experimenting with the system.

US shipowners and operators were aware they needed to be environmentally responsible, but wanted a common solution to avoid a patchwork of regulations around the world that might shift the competitive balance, he said.

Farrell said the Port of Tacoma does not yet face serious air pollution from ships, but he had seen how air quality deteriorated at Californian ports when traffic was heavy.

And like other ports around the world, Tacoma -- a gateway into North America for Asian manufacturers, including China -- plans to expand.

It hopes to be able to handle as many as 10 million twenty-foot-equivalent units a year in future, compared with 2 million currently.

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