The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced it will be releasing details of a new clean-air programme to further reduce air emissions from shipping and impacts from port facility operations.

The programme has been developed in conjunction with port stakeholders and will provide port authority funds and federal grants "to support best practices" on emissions from port-related sources.

Rick Larrabee, the agency's director of port commerce, told the Journal of Commerce that the strategy lays out practical actions that the Port and industry stakeholders can take to reduce diesel and greenhouse (GHG) emissions in advance of potential regulations.

"These actions will significantly reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) pollution, as well as greenhouse gases (GHG)," according to a port draft.

"Examples of these actions include replacement of the oldest and most polluting trucks serving the port, installation of shorepower capability at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, retrofit of two switcher locomotives serving the Port's on-dock rail operations with GenSet systems, and modernisation of cargo handling equipment used by terminal operators leasing space from the Port Authority," it added.

Larrabee added that the port authority also expects to decide on the best way to deal with the Bayonne Bridge, whose 151-foot vertical clearance poses an obstacle for ships calling at container terminals at Port Newark-Elizabeth and on Staten Island.

In 2008 the Board of Commissioners adopted the Statement of Principles for Improving Air Quality at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

It aims to decrease criteria pollutants by an annual 3%, which equates to a 30% decrease from baseline 2006 levels despite any port growth over the next ten years.

The port also plans to decrease GHGs by 5% annually, which equates to a 50% decrease from baseline 2006 levels despite any port growth over the next ten years.