25 Nov 13 - 15:41
(California OGV Fuel Regulation coming into force on January 2014
The California Air Resources Board has issued Marine Advisory to remind owners and operator of the new
requirements in the regulation for fuel sulfur and other operational
requirements for ocean- going vessels within California Waters and 24
Nautical Miles of the California Baseline
The California OGV Fuel Regulation, which has been enforced since July 2009, provides significant air quality benefits by requiring ships to use cleaner, low sulfur marine distillate fuel.
The purpose of this advisory is to notify owners and operators
of upcoming changes in the fuel sulfur requirements beginning January 1,
2014, and to remind operators that they must comply with both the
California OGV Fuel Regulation and the North American Emission Control
Area (ECA) requirements. There are also 2014 requirements for some
vessels under California's At-Berth Regulation.
Beginning January 1, 2014 the maximum fuel sulfur (S) limit for both marine gas oil (DMA) and marine diesel oil (DMB) will be 0.1% S.
These Phase II requirements (shown in Table 1) will be enforced within
the California OGV regulatory zone, which is 24 nm off the coast of
California, including islands
|
Fuel Requirement |
Effective Day |
ARB's California OGV Fuel Requirement % Sulfur Content Limit |
| Phase I | July 1, 2009 | Marine gas oil (DMA) at or below 1.5% sulfur; or Marine diesel oil (DMB) at or below 0.5% sulfur |
| Phase I | August 1, 2012 | Marine gas oil (DMA) at or below 1.0% sulfur; or Marine diesel oil (DMB) at or below 0.5% sulfur |
| Phase II | January 1, 2014 | Both marine gas oil (DMA) and marine diesel oil (DMB) at or below 0.1% sulfur |
Vessels must meet both the requirements of the California OGV Fuel Regulation and the ECA when entering California ports.
The California OGV Fuel Regulation
contains a Noncompliance Fee Provision designed to accommodate vessel
operators unable to find compliant fuel. Using this provision, vessel
operators can pay a fee in lieu of direct compliance with the fuel
standards. In addition, a vessel operator can use this provision without
paying a fee once per vessel in 2014 if they are unable to source 0.1%
sulfur fuel. To avoid paying the fee, a vessel operator must make a good
faith effort to acquire compliant fuel, use marine distillate fuel that
meets the Phase I requirements that began on August 1, 2012 on the
inbound voyage, and purchase and use compliant Phase II fuel for the
remainder of the voyage in the California OGV regulatory zone. Vessel
operators must also comply with the other provisions of the
Noncompliance Fee Provision
California's Ocean Going Vessel Regulatory Zone
Additional information
California OGV Fuel Regulation http://www.arb.ca.gov/ports/shorepower/shorepower.htm
ECA Requirements
Noncompliance Fee Provision
