Expanded emissions regulation in California for tankers and RoRo vessels to commence from 2025

In a bid to further bring down harmful pollutants from oceangoing vessels, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is expanding its 2020 CARB At-Berth regulation, requiring tanker and roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels to utilize a CARB-approved emission control strategy (CAECS) while docked at California ports, Norway’s classification society DNV revealed.

As disclosed, starting from January 1, 2025, the expanded At-Berth regulation is set to apply to RoRo vessels visiting any terminal in California and tankers in the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Finally, from January 2027, the regulation will apply to all tanker vessels visiting any of the state’s terminals.

The regulated emissions are nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) as well as reactive organic gases (ROG).

According to CARB, the options for compliance include – but are not limited to – connecting to onshore power (OPS) while at berth, using a “CARB-approved” exhaust capture and control system, or utilizing eco-friendly fuels, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The 2020 At-Berth regulation—which took effect on January 1, 2021—required all oceangoing ship and terminal operators to report each of their visits made to any Californian marine terminal. As per DNV, this is different from the 2007 stipulation, the compliance for which began in 2014, that only applied to container ships, passenger ships and refrigerated-cargo ships just at certain state ports.

Acting under the authority of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was the one to formally grant CARB’s authorization request for the 2020 regulation. Compliance dates per vessel type were set, with January 1. 2023 as the starting point for emissions control regarding container, refrigerator cargo and cruise ships, specifically.

As per CARB, this existing regulation has resulted in a reduction of 80% of emissions from those vessel types as of 2020.

Bulk and general cargo vessels were not included under the pollutant control stipulations then, however, they have had obligatory visit reporting since that same date.

The State of California’s maritime decarbonization efforts have made big strides as of late, particularly with the recent infusion of $3 billion in federal funding through the EPA’s Clean Ports Program that aims to help the state ports’ transition toward zero-emission (ZE) operations.

The Port of Los Angeles, receiving the largest share of $412 million from the EPA, is set to invest the grant into infrastructure and technology that would ‘greatly’ reduce harmful pollutant emissions, from the air as well as the sea, and lead the port toward climate neutrality.

In addition to Los Angeles, the ports of Oakland, San Diego, and Vancouver USA are also among the 55 winners chosen by the EPA through the Clean Ports program.

The Port of Oakland reportedly plans to invest the money on transitioning to ZE alternatives for drayage trucks and cargo-handling equipment, while San Diego plans to invest in two shore power systems as well as various battery-electric environmentally friendly equipment and infrastructure, among other projects.

As explained, these developments are expected to eliminate thousands of tons of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions annually.

On a federal level, the Biden-Harris administration has pushed for numerous environmental endeavors, urging for more climate-friendly policies, including carbon pricing and investments in clean energy, though these efforts are still evolving.

As part of President Biden’s ‘Invest in America’ agenda, in October 2023, just months after the announcement of a $4 billion investment to boost the electrification of the country’s ports, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) put in $653 million toward infrastructure improvement of 41 ports.

Continuing with this ‘trend’, in October this year, the Biden-Harris administration awarded the EPA $125 million as part of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Grants Program. The aim of this grant was to incentivize and accelerate the upgrade or retirement of older diesel engines to cleaner and ZE solutions.