Port of Los Angeles Hosts First Plugged In Container Ship

LOS ANGELES, California, June 21, 2004 (ENS) - The world’s first container ship to use alternative maritime power technology - electricity instead of diesel - is being plugged in today at the Port of Los Angeles at a ceremony attended by Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn. All ships docking at the new China Shipping terminal being constructed at the port will be able to plug into an electric power system and turn their diesel engines off instead of continuously running them to generate electricity.

The world's first electrified container terminal will benefit residents of neighboring San Pedro who have high rates of respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis, and the highest cancer risk in the region due to air pollution generated by ships moving through the port and the trucks that serve them.

The electrified container terminal system being installed at the China Shipping Terminal is expected to eliminate more than three tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 350 pounds of diesel particulate matter for each ship that plugs in. The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s most recent inventory of ship emissions shows that a single vessel at berth generates as much as one ton of NOx each day and almost 100 pounds of particulates.

The new electrified system is part of a final settlement to operate Phase I of the China Shipping terminal that was approved last week by a Superior Court judge.

The settlement was negotiated by three environmental organizations and two citizens groups who sued the Port and City of Los Angeles in 2001 alleging they had approved the China Shipping terminal without considering or mitigating harm to neighboring communities.

The Port of Los Angeles. More than 3,000 vessels move through America's busiest port each year. (Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles)

"I love the smell of a ship running on electric power," said Gail Ruderman Feuer, a senior attorney at Natural Resources Defense Council and lead counsel for plaintiffs in the case. "Congratulations to the mayor, council member Hahn and the harbor commissioners, who today are taking a big step towards cleaning up L.A.'s air."

“This is a great day for the Port of Los Angeles and the people of Los Angeles,” said Mayor Jim Hahn. “When I took office, I said I would ensure that there is no net increase in emissions at the Port, and this agreement will help us continue to honor that pledge."

The settlement approved by Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs also requires the port to establish a $50 million fund for mitigation of air quality and aesthetic impacts in the community, including $10 million to clean up old trucks.

The port must use dock tractors that run on cleaner, alternative fuels instead of diesel and to evaluate the feasibility of cleaner marine fuels.

When the terminal expands the port will have to install shorter cranes and analyze the aesthetic impact, if any, of standard sized gantry cranes.

As part of the settlement, the port will allocate an additional $3.5 million for development of parks and open space in San Pedro and create a procedure for evaluating the use of aesthetic mitigation funds that includes approval by the Port Community Advisory Committee.

Container ship leaves the Port of Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles)

Together, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the single largest source of air pollution in Southern California, emitting as much diesel exhaust as 16,000 tractor-trailer trucks idling their engines 24 hours a day. Economists expect cargo throughput at the two ports to triple within 20 years.

"These ports are America's gateway to Asia, which means they'll be growing rapidly for a long time to come," said Todd Campbell, policy director at the Coalition for Clean Air, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. "However, growth cannot come at the expense of our environment and public health."

Ships at berth in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach annually generate more than 4,000 tons of smog forming NOx pollution, according to a recent report commissioned by the Port of Long Beach, contributing to the poor air quality of San Pedro and Wilmington.

"The China Shipping terminal demonstrates that ports don't have to pose a threat to public health," said Feuer.

The electric technology, called cold ironing in the industry, has been used by naval vessels, cruise ships and ferries, but this is the first use for container ships. Applying cold ironing to container vessels is one of the recommendations in "Harboring Pollution: The Dirty Truth About U.S. Ports," a report published in March by the Coalition for Clean Air and NRDC.

The report, available online at www.nrdc.org or www.coalitionforcleanair.org, grades the environmental practices of the nation's top 10 container ports and outlines ways to improve them. A companion report to be released next month provides detailed recommendations for greening ports.

The California Air Resources Board is calling for cold ironing as one strategy to reduce emissions from the auxiliary engines of oceangoing ships. In a proposal issued in April, the Air Resources Board recommends cleaner fuels, operational controls, incentive programs, opacity limits, retrofits, and cold ironing. The Board would adopt statewide programs in 2004 and 2005, and implement them in the 2005-2010 time period. The Board sets goals of a 10 percent reduction next year and a 25 to 40 percent reduction by 2010.

Port of Los Angeles China Shipping Berths 97-109 Container Terminal Improvements Project (Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

"This settlement is a win for the residents of San Pedro and Wilmington," said Councilwoman Janice Hahn. "We are making progress toward a day when we can have both a working port, and healthy neighborhoods. The China Shipping Settlement sets a precedent of how we do things at the Port today and into the future."

“The Port of Los Angeles is an undisputed leader in economic and job stability for the local and national economy,” said Harbor Commission President Nicholas Tonsich. “What we are proving today is that the Port also is taking a leadership role in environmental and community concerns."

"The Board of Harbor Commissioners take this balance of roles very seriously and will continue to support programs that benefit both the economy and the environment, said Tonsich.

China Shipping Group is a state owned enterprise under the direct administration of the Chinese Central Government. The shipping conglomerate manages terminals and operates five specialized shipping fleets of container vessels, oil tankers, bulk ships, passenger ships and special cargo ships - more than 400 vessels.