Funding for US environmental projects

The aim is to reduce harmful emissions by empowering ships to use alternative fuels and technologies and it’s the first funding awarded by MARAD for innovative environmental projects.

David Matsuda, MARAD Administrator, said: “As our maritime industry enters a new era in reducing vessel air emissions, publicly-available data for promising technologies will help take the guessing game out of which ones work best for particular uses.”

He added: “Through smart environmental sustainability efforts like these, mariners who work aboard these vessels and those who live and work in port communities will all breathe cleaner air.”

Foss Maritime will receive $600,000 to convert the Los Angeles based tugboat Alta June with a new fuel efficient hybrid engine which reduces emissions, noise and fuel consumption.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency will receive $400,000 to replace its Seattle based tugboat Island Chief with a low sulphur diesel engine and to support a student internship programme for training on engine replacement.

The Southeast Missouri Planning Commission will receive $500,000 towards replacing the Mississippi towboat Jimmy Brown’s engine to an engine capable of running on bio fuel.