Cruise ships would be banned from using high-sulphur fuels in NSW ports by the middle of next year, if the Baird government is re-elected.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The commitment follows concerns that pollution from the White Bay Cruise Ship Terminal has been making Balmain residents sick since the $57 million facility opened in 2013.
Ships using the White Bay facility use a low-quality "bunker" fuel that can contain up to 35 times the concentrations of sulphur permitted in North American and European ports.
The issue is exacerbated by the terminal's lack of an onshore power source, which means that liners using the terminal must keep their engines running as their only source of power while berthed.
A parliamentary inquiry that last month found fumes from the terminal, as well as issues with noise and vibrations from ship engines, had a "significant impact" on the surrounding community.
The Baird government promised the maximum allowable sulphur content of the fuel would be reduced to 0.1 per cent from 3.5 per cent by July 1 next year, if it wins re-election.
"There is no reason why the people of NSW should not enjoy the same standards as those enjoyed by people in North America and Europe," Environment Minister Rob Stokes said.
Mr Stokes said a Baird government would allow cruise ships to meet the new requirement through exhaust cleaning technologies called scrubbers.
Emissions from other shipping types would also be reviewed and considered for further regulation, he said.
"Until the regulations come into force, a re-elected Baird government will work with the industry to mitigate impacts on effected communities through seeking to minimise the time that ships using high-sulphur fuel spend in port," Mr Stokes said.
"A detailed benefit-cost analysis of installing ship-to-shore power at each of the major NSW shipping ports used by the cruise industry is currently under way and will be completed in 2015."
The promises echo those made on Sunday by Labor, which is hoping to snatch the seat of Balmain from Greens MP Jamie Parker.
The party's candidate, Verity Firth, announced that, if elected, Labor would declare White Bay an "emissions control area" and investigate ways to implement shore-to-ship power.
Retrofitting the terminal with an onshore power source was one of the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry, which disappointed residents by not making any specific recommendations about high-sulphur fuel.
Resident Katrina Horrobin, who addressed the parliamentary inquiry, welcomed "all initiatives to protect all Sydneysiders from the toxic and dangerous emissions currently belching out of the cruise ships".
"This is still 15 months away, however, so we also need interim solutions which mean our families don't have to suffer the ongoing health symptoms for yet another cruise season. It's been two years already," Ms Horrobin said.
The country's largest cruise ship operator, Carnival Australia, has previously questioned the availability and cost of low-sulphur fuel in Australia.
But a spokesman for Caltex Australia said low sulphur fuel was "widely available in Australia and any increased demand for it would be easily met".
"So availability is not an issue," the spokesman said.
