The maritime industry is at a crossroads, and tugboat and towboat owners across the nation are eyeing fuel efficiency and emission reduction technologies with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. The first half of 2025 has been a whirlwind, with emissions taking center stage and setting the tone for the coming years. The International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s MEPC 83 meeting in mid-April laid out ambitious plans for reduced greenhouse gas emissions, which could become law by October 2025 and take effect in 2027. The IMO is pushing for a legally binding framework to achieve net-zero emissions by or around 2050, a first-of-its-kind global initiative.
The plethora of regulations concerning fuels has the maritime community buzzing. MEPC 83 followed hot on the heels of the “Fuel EU” initiative, which kicked off in January 2025, targeting carbon and nitrogen emissions from vessels trading within or into/out of the European Union. The new IMO measures, if approved, will be similar but separate, adding another layer to the regulatory landscape. The hope is that these disparate regulations will converge in the coming decades, creating a more cohesive framework. Industry expert Adrian Colson of “2050 Marine Energy” consultancy told Marine News, “There’s been some hope that EU and IMO regulations will come together into one coherent body of rules.” Colson opined in an interview with OPIS, “I think it’s pretty universal in the shipping community that they don’t want multiple regulatory regimes to deal with emissions. Ideally the MEPC83 framework will satisfy different national jurisdictions and unify the regulatory control under IMO.”
In the U.S., the situation is a bit more complex. While the U.S. is a signatory to the MARPOL convention, the new IMO dictates won’t apply to the inland/workboat sector, which operates vessels under 5,000 gross tons. Instead, emissions rules are enforced through U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) inspections, working in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At the state level, California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) has been the most aggressive, with rules that have sparked controversy among vessel owners.
So, what are U.S. workboat operators doing to reduce emissions? Companies like Moran Towing are leading the charge. Moran, operating along the East and Gulf Coasts, has reduced CO2 emissions by an estimated 5,000 metric tons since 2022, equivalent to taking 1,000 cars off the road for a year. Moran emphasizes industry-wide collaboration, having co-founded the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition in 2021 to accelerate the North American maritime industry toward net-zero emissions. The company has also launched 10 tugboats since 2017 that meet the EPA’s stringent Tier 4 emissions requirements.
On the West Coast, Crowley’s eWolf, an all-electric ship assist tug, is serving San Diego, while Saltchuck Marine is building a quartet of Robert Allan design escort tugs that comply with EPA Tier 4 and CARB environmental requirements. Crowley Marine has also begun fueling a San Francisco-based tug with a biofuel blend. A possible future game-changer is Arc Boat’s conversion of a small tugboat to electric power in the Port of Los Angeles, with plans to scale the technology to larger tugboats.
However, CARB’s Commercial Harbor Craft Rules, in place since January 2023, have been a bone of contention. The legislation requires existing vessels to meet increasingly stringent emissions targets, often necessitating costly retrofits. A bill to delay the legislation was vetoed by California’s Governor in September 2024, and CARB’s enforcement efforts remain in place for the maritime sector.
The American Waterways Operators (AWO), representing the tug and barge industry, has expressed safety concerns over the installation of diesel particulate filters (DPFs), as required by CARB. AWO President/CEO Jennifer Carpenter wrote to California’s Governor, highlighting the USCG’s safety concerns and the lack of existing technology to accommodate DPFs. The retrofit cost per vessel is estimated at $5 million, with a very limited number of grant programs available to offset these costs.
As the Trump 2.0 administration takes shape, the situation is nuanced. The maritime industry is watching closely, hoping for a unified regulatory framework that balances environmental goals with operational realities. The coming years will be pivotal, shaping the future of the tugboat and towboat sector and the broader maritime industry. The push for net-zero emissions by 2050 is a tall order, but the industry is rising to the challenge, one innovative step at a time. The regulatory landscape is evolving, and operators are