PARIS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- France's maritime transport company La Meridionale has launched its first zero-particle ferry, le Piana, that will link the southern city of Marseille to the island of Corsica, French daily newspaper Le Figaro reported on Tuesday.
All the engines of the ferry are equipped with an innovative filter that captures 99 percent of sulfur oxides and eliminates 99.9 percent of fine and ultrafine particles -- the most dangerous pollutants for human health, Le Figaro reported.
"It is a new solution, a world's first," the newspaper quoted Marc Reverchon, president of La Meridionale, as saying. His company aims to install the filter on all its ships.
Reverchon said Le Piana already complies with new standards which will come into force in 2025 to limit the sulfur content in marine fuels to 0.1 percent in the Mediterranean.
The initiative of a small company can inspire big companies, said Renaud Muselier, president of the regional council of Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur. "They won't have any more passengers on board if they don't make this advancement."
"By dealing with all the particle emissions, they have gone much further than what is required by the regulations," said Damien Piga, innovation director of the regional air quality monitoring body, Atmosud.
According to Atmosud, air pollution causes nine million deaths globally each year. Its annual economic impact on France is around 100 billion euros (99.02 billion U.S. dollars), mainly in health expenditure.
