The Transit to Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel

Leading efforts to minimize the environmental impact of ships and boats at work, the Port of Los Angeles and the Jankovich Company – a supplier of fuel for cargo ships, tugs, barges and other marine vessels since 1933 – announced a new agreement to fuel its marine fleet with ultra low sulfur fuel.

The fuel is from BP and sold under the brand name ECD. It is designed to be a technologically advanced, cleaner-burning fuel that is refined from select crudes. Reportedly, the Port of Los Angeles and Jankovich are the first clients in the U.S. to use this formula at a marine facility.

The new fuel replaces standard diesel, and reportedly minimizes the amount of suffur from 500 parts per million by weight (ppmw) to only 15 ppmw. The California air Resources Board’s current diesel fuel regulations for sulfur content are 500 ppmw, maximum. Proposed amendments to these regulations would reduce diesel fuel sulfur content to 15 ppmw starting in mid-2006.

Included in the Port of Los Angeles fleet are Port Police and Port Pilot boats; clean-up and construction vessels; as well as a tour boat.