Friday, January 16, 2015
EPA grants exemption to Horizon Lines on plan to spend $18M
on scrubbers
Ocean carrier Horizon Lines has received a permit exempting it from stringent marine fuel regulations as it will install exhaust gas scrubber systems on three D7-class ships that operate in the Alaska trade, the company said.
Horizon said it has an $18 million agreement with Alfa Laval for the design and installation of the scrubbers, which will begin in September and be completed in December 2016. This Alfa Laval exhaust gas cleaning system is a multiple inlet hybrid system that will clean the exhaust gas from the main engine as well as the main generators. The shipping line said the scrubbers would be "the first system of its kind for a Jones Act container vessel."
The Environmental Protection Agency and Coast Guard will allow Horizon to use "low-sulfur heavy fuel oil" in the vessels' engines as they travel between Washington and Alaska, Horizon said.
International Maritime Organization regulations dictate that ships must use fuel with a maximum sulfur content of 0.1 percent beginning January 1, 2015 (down from 1 percent previously) in 200-mile emission control areas extending from the U.S. and other shores. Ships are allowed to apply for exemptions if they find alternative means of compliance, such as the scrubbers, which rids emissions of sulfur.
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