Boxer legislation to cut ship emissions could drive up fuel costs 50%

The shipping companies' fuel costs could rise as much as 50 percent under proposed legislation by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, aimed at reducing sulfur emissions from ships traveling in U.S. waters.

The bill, S. 1499, would require the sulfur content of diesel fuel used by ships to drop from the present average 27,000 parts per million to an ultimate level of 1,000 parts per million. It would require, by Dec. 31, 2010, all domestic and foreign-flagged ships sailing into U.S. ports to switch to lower-sulfur fuel when traveling within 200 nautical miles of shore. However, currently, the cost of standard bunker fuel used commonly in the shipping industry ranges from $460 to $490 per ton, while the lower-sulfur content marine diesel fuel costs range from $790 to $860 per ton.