Ever since the EPA proposed tougher engine and fuel standards for U.S. flagged ships, there has been a lot of buzz in the blog world.  Ultimately, such standards would align the U.S. with international criterion and serve to reduce air pollution in U.S. cities and ports.  Naturally, we are in full support of any measures that would enhance our own efforts in making the shipping industry a cleaner one.  Our Alternative Maritime Power (AMP™) system allows ships in port to plug into local electricity grids, rather than running their engines to produce power – a process commonly referred to as “cold ironing.”

What has been of particular interest is seeing the many articles that use the EPA’s proposal as an argument for the use of cold ironing. Or the residents who track the issue in their own neighborhoods, and wonder why cold ironing isn’t already in place in Red Hook, Brooklyn or wherever else.

There is also a lot of positive coverage for those who have adopted AMP™ or other cold ironing systems or have intentions to do so.  From San Diego, California to Port Everglades, Florida, it seems that the EPA’s proposal has sparked many into action.  While this is just a start, as Thomas J. Eager, CEO of N.C. State Ports Authority, remarks in his op-ed, “daily there are new “green” practices becoming standard in the port industry.”

Given that each ship using AMP™ saves around one ton of pollutants per day, we look forward to seeing the day cold ironing become one such standardised green practice.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Ports & Maritime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Disclaimer.