Marine Vessel Emissions

After traveling aboard the Long Island Sound ferry last weekend, it is very apparent that the EPA must not overlook diesel exhaust from large commercial vessels. While the engines from this vessel were running, streams of black particulate matter were continuously emitted from the ferry's stacks. In addition, the levels of oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide were most likely off the charts. My family is lucky that the stacks were quite a distance above our heads and that there was a strong head wind to keep the exhaust away from the passengers.

The diesel fuel used today is a low grade fuel with high sulfur content called bunker or residual fuel. Bunker fuel is a by-product of the distilling process to create lighter petroleum products from crude oil. It has a high viscosity, sulfur and nitrogen content that increases emissions of NOx by 50%-70% and PM by 750%-1250% over lighter diesel products.

A very simple method to decrease these marine vessel emissions to to regulate the type of diesel fuel.