We who live here on the Strait face daily pollution from the hundreds of tankers, freighters and cruise ships that pass by. When the wind is up, it’s not a big problem,but when it’s still, it can be very noticeable. And the health risks here have not been studied. More on the ongoing issue of getting rid of heavy bunker fuel.
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The heavy fuel that oceangoing vessels burn adds so much to air pollution hundreds of miles inland that the United States joined with Canada during President George W. Bush’s administration to ask the International Maritime Organization to create an emissions-control area along the coasts.
Large ships would be required to reduce pollution dramatically in a zone 200 miles out to sea along all the coasts of North America, mainly by using cleaner fuel. The cargo-shipping industry supported the stringent emission reductions. The cruise-ship industry, however, wants an emissions-averaging plan that would allow it to burn the same heavy fuel it always has used in some areas, and it’s lobbying Congress for help.