ILWU praises Maersk but says more is needed on environmental reductions
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said Tuesday it hailed Maersk Line’s recent cleaner air efforts by switching to less-toxic, lower-sulfur fuels in all of its ships calling at California ports, but said much more still needs to be done to save lives threatened by port pollution.
Maersk’s move only has it adhering to the legal mandates the California Air Resources Board is requiring of all shipping lines in the next seven months.
“The ILWU calls on Maersk and all other multinational shipping lines, along with port commissions, to implement measures to reduce overall vessels ‘ emissions by at least 20 percent by 2010 all over the West Coast,” ILWU International President James Spinosa said. “With the new effective technologies now available, there is no excuse for shipping lines to continue making record profits at the expense of the lives of workers and communities in the ports.”
