Maersk Sealand Company

Bucking the maritime industry, the largest shipping line in the world took a critical step Friday toward reducing air pollution in Los Angeles Harbor by vowing to use clean-burning, low-sulfur fuel in all its cargo vessels that call at California ports. Officials for Maersk Inc.

Fueled by the demand for alcohol and luxury cars, European imports have undergone a double-digit increase at Southern California ports in the last three years, officials said. The total dollar value of imports from Western Europe grew by 18% from 1998 to 1999 and an additional 13.6% in 2000, according to the most recent statistics provided by the two ports. The total value of European imports reached $6.7 billion in 2000. That still doesn't rival the $165.