MONTREAL, March 31 /CNW Telbec/ – Canada’s international shipping industry is pleased with the progress made last week at the International Maritime Organisation (the U.N. agency that regulates shipping). We welcome the decision to adopt a North American Emission Control Area (or ECA) to help reduce air emissions from ships. The ECA will improve air quality along North American coastlines by subjecting ships to strict environmental standards that will significantly reduce emissions of sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. Ships will meet these standards by using cleaner fuels and / or implementing treatment technologies such as scrubbers. The ECA, which was a proposal introduced by Canada, the United States and France in July 2009, will come into effect in 2012. This development illustrates how quickly the IMO can implement legislation, on a global basis, and represents an important step forward in the maritime industry’s ongoing efforts to reduce its environmental footprint. (more…)