Designation of Emission Control Area
to Reduce Emissions from Ships in
the U.S. Caribbean
The International Maritime Organization has officially designated
waters off the coasts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
as an area in which stringent international emission standards will
apply for ships. These standards will dramatically reduce air pollution
from ships and deliver substantial benefits to the population of those
U.S. territories, as well as to marine and terrestrial ecosystems. This
fact sheet contains an overview of this geographic emissions control
program.
Overview
On July 15, 2011, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) amended the
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)
designating specific portions of the coastal waters around Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands as an Emission Control Area (EGA). This action brings these waters
into an international control program for the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx),
sulfur oxides (SOx), and particulate matter (PM) from ships, most of which are
flagged outside of the United States. Allowing for the lead time associated with the
IMO process, the US Caribbean EGA will become enforceable in January 2014.
Ships are significant contributors to the Territories' emission inventories. The EGA is
expected to reduce emissions of NOx by 27 percent, PM2.5 by 86 percent, and SOx
by 96 percent, below levels in 2020 absent the EGA,
The area of the U.S. Caribbean EGA includes waters adjacent to coasts of the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, up to roughly 50 nautical
miles (nm) from the territorial sea baselines of the included islands. The EGA is
bounded such that it does not extend into marine areas subject to the sovereignty,
sovereign rights, or jurisdiction of any state other than the United States,
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-11-024
July 2011
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Emission Control Area Standards
In October 2008, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted two additional
tiers of NOx and fuel sulfur controls for ships. The most stringent of these standards apply to
ships operating in designated Emission Control Areas (EGAs). The table below summarizes the
standards and effective dates for the global and EGA standards for fuel sulfur and engine NOx
that are found in Annex VI, regulations 13 and 14. The date on which the EGA requirements
become enforceable for a specific area relates to its treaty amendment date. The EGA require-
ments will become enforceable in the U.S. Caribbean EGA in January 2014.
Table 1: International Ship Engine and Fuel Standards (MARPOLAnnexVI)
Emission Control Areas
Global
Effective Date
May 2005 to June 2010
July 2010
January 2015
January 2016
Before January 2011
January 2011
Before January 2012
2012
2020a
Fuel Sulfur
15,000 ppm
10,000 ppm
1,000 ppm
45,000 ppm
35,000 ppm
5,000 ppm
NOx
Tier III Aftertreatment
Tier I Engine Controls
Tier II Engine Controls
Notes:
a Subject to a fuel availability study in 2018, may be extended to 2025
The fuel sulfur standards indicated in the above table are the maximum fuel sulfur content
allowed under MARPOL Annex VI for ships with diesel engines over 130 kW. More stringent
standards may apply under USEPA regulations, depending on the size of engine. To read more
about how these engine and fuel standards apply in the United States, see 40 CFR part 1043,
available on EPA's web page at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/oceanvessels.htm#engine'fuel.
Ships sailing in the designated area are expected to meet the most stringent EGA fuel standard
through fuel switching. In most cases, ships already have the capability to store two or more fuels.
However, some vessels may need to be modified for additional distillate fuel storage capacity.
As an alternative to using low sulfur fuel, ship operators may choose to equip their vessels with
scrubbers that extract sulfur from the exhaust.
The Tier III NOx standards for new engines in 2016 represent an 80 percent reduction below
Tier I. We expect ships to meet the Tier III engine standard through the use of technology such
as selective catalytic reduction. Other technological approaches may include exhaust gas recir-
culation, water injection strategies, and dual fuel dieseI/natural gas engines.
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Costs
The costs of implementing and complying with the US Caribbean EGA are expected to be rea-
sonable in comparison to the costs of achieving similar emissions reductions through additional
controls on land-based sources. We estimate the total costs of improving ship emissions from
current performance to EGA standards while operating in the EGA will be approximately $70
million in 2020. The costs to reduce a ton of NOx, SOx and PM are estimated at $500, $1,000
and $10,000, respectively.1 In comparison, the 2007 heavy-duty highway truck rule cost $2,300
per ton for NOx and $15,000 per ton for PM. Improving current ship emission levels to EGA
standards is one of the most cost-effective measures available to obtain clean air benefits for
these islands.
The economic impacts of complying with the program on ships engaged in international trade
are expected to be modest. For example, the impact on the price of a cruise on a medium-sized
cruise ship that operates a route between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico is estimated to
increase by approximately US$0.60 per passenger per day for a 5-day cruise. This represents a
less than one percent increase in the price of such a cruise. Container ships operating in the
EGA are expected to see a cost increase of less than one percent of the cost of transport of a
20-foot container, or about $0.33 to $1.35 per unit, depending on the size of the ship and the
length of the route.
Benefits
Reducing ship emissions from baseline performance to EGA standards will reduce local inven-
tories of NOx, SOx and PM2.5 in 2020 by approximately 11,000, 31,000 and 3,300 short tons,
respectively.2 The emission reductions that will occur as a result of applying EGA controls in the
area will help reduce the damage to human health and the environment that is caused by ship
emissions and will help Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands achieve and maintain healthier
ambient air quality. Benefits also include reductions of stressors to areas of environmental and
ecological significance, allowing them to begin to recover their natural balance.
For More Information
This EGA designation is the latest component of EPA's coordinated strategy to address emissions
from all ships that affect U.S. air quality. You can access the EGA standards, the proposal to the
IMO and related documents on EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality web site at:
www.epa.gov/otaq/oceanvessels.htm
The above page also contains information about other components of the strategy, including
Clean Air Act standards and the North American EGA,
1 The proposal to the IMO presented cost effectiveness in units of US$ per metric ton ($/MT): $600/MT for
NOx, $ 1,100/MT for SOx and $ 11,000/MT for PM.
2 The proposal to the IMO presented emission reductions in units of metric tons (MT): 10,000 MT NOx,
3,000 MT PM2.5, and 28,000 MT SOx reduced.
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For additional information, please contact the Assessment and Standards Division at:
Assessment and Standards Division
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2000 Traverwood Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI48105
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