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Star Ferry's hope of using cleaner fuel for its smoke-belching fleet has been thwarted after tests on a new fuel revealed technical hurdles that could not be overcome.




The ferry operator's general manager, Johnny Leung Tak-hing, said the emulsified diesel had proved to be more environmentally friendly and relatively cheap, but it was also found to rust vessel parts. Ultra-low-sulfur diesel - another fuel the ferry operator has considered - also failed the test for now as it would greatly increase the company's costs, although it is 100 times cleaner than the industrial diesel now used.

"Ultra-low-sulfur diesel is very uncommon in our trade, so even if we could afford the costs we would have to solve the problem whether there would be sufficient supply," Mr Leung said.

The government imposed a new condition for the ferry operator to use cleaner fuel when it renewed the franchise on two of its most popular routes in October. But the Transport and Housing Bureau said yesterday that this was non-binding and Star Ferry would not be penalised if it could not fulfil this requirement. Mr Leung said they were still exploring the possibilities of other cleaner fuels but said the diesel they now used met both local and international standards.

An expert in the field who did not want to be named said a major reason that Star Ferry vessels belched smoke was because of their slow speed, not the cleanliness of the fuel.