Pollution solution

CALIFORNIA’S PORTS WILL KILL an estimated 2,400 people prematurely this year. They won’t die in train or crane accidents -- they’ll simply breathe the air. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the biggest polluters in Southern California, and the biggest source of pollution at the ports is container ships that burn cheap “bunker” fuel -- the crud that’s left over in the refining process for cleaner fuels. It contains up to 3,000 times more sulfur than the fuel used in modern diesel trucks.

This fatal pollution has been allowed to continue thanks to loose international maritime regulations and indifference by shippers. That changed dramatically last month. Maersk Inc., a Danish firm that is the biggest shipper in the world and operator of the busiest container terminal in Los Angeles, announced that it would voluntarily switch to low-sulfur fuel in all of its 37 cargo ships that call on California. It also said it was pursuing development of a new catalytic converter that would reduce ship emissions even further. If port officials follow through, Maersk’s move could set a precedent that would have a noticeable effect on Southern California’s air quality.

Shipping companies have long claimed that switching to low-sulfur fuel is impractical; it’s simply too scarce, they say, and the cost of converting their engines would be prohibitive. Maersk has just proved these companies wrong.

Port officials should use their leverage to compel other shippers to follow Maersk’s lead. One way they can do this is by setting new terms as the leases on container terminals expire. When it comes time to renew the leases, the port could insist that shippers switch to clean fuel and use electric power while unloading, rather than keep their engines running. They also could offer more favorable lease terms to any company, such as Maersk, that clean up voluntarily.

There are other efforts underway to clean up ship emissions, all of which will benefit from Maersk’s decision. The state’s Air Resources Board approved a plan in April that called for cutting diesel emissions from the goods-movement industry by 85% by 2020. Though the plan has no guaranteed funding or mandatory controls, Maersk could help persuade shippers to go along with emissions cuts voluntarily before the state puts teeth in its regulations. At the federal level, activists are pursuing a sulfur-emissions control area around North America, which could be imposed by the International Maritime Organization under petition from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

If shippers haven’t yet figured out that business as usual is no longer acceptable, they soon will. The next time they claim cleaner ships are impossible, all anyone has to say is, “If Maersk can do it, why can’t you?”