U.S. Navy urges EPA to continue to exempt foreign-flag ships from clean-diesel ship emissions regulations

Diesel Fuel News, August 19, 2002

While the U.S. Navy is exempt from EPA big-ship diesel emissions regulations for national security reasons, it already uses cleaner diesel fuels, cleaner diesel engines and clean turbines on its vessels. But since the Navy must call at foreign ports to refuel, it therefore can't afford to have the U.S.

government (of which EPA is a part) offend those nations with clean-fuel/engine demands when ships of those nations call at U.S. ports. "This position is fully consistent with the expectations for United States sovereign vessels visiting foreign ports" and is consistent with the so-called MARPOL shipping conventions, the Navy tells EPA in official comments on the big-ship diesel proposed rule (see Diesel Fuel News 5/13/02, p7). "Imposing standards more stringent than those set out in international agreements would raise questions of ocean policy and may have adverse ramifications on U.S. foreign policy," of which the Navy is partly an instrument. EPA instead should pursue stricter emissions standards for everyb ody, through International Maritime Organization and MARPOL, the Navy argues.