SSA Marine cuts emissions at Long Beach terminal

SSA Marine cuts emissions at Long Beach terminal SSA Marine has reported substantial air emissions reductions from container handling equipment used in its operations at the Port of Long Beach's Pier A terminal.
   The yard tractors were recently switched from operating on diesel fuel to liquefied natural gas. The LNG-fueled tractors generated a 77 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and a 93 percent reduction in particulate matter (PM), compared to the vehicle's diesel counterpart. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires such emission levels by 2010, which SSA Marine said it could accomplish three years early by using the LNG-fueled vehicles.
   While only part of the entire air pollution makeup generated by burning fossil fuels, NOx and particulate emissions have received recent scrutiny in the Southern California basin as major contributors to health problems. Studies have shown a link between the pollution and illnesses such as asthma and elevated cancer levels in people living or working near transportation routes.
   SSA Marine has partnered on the project with Bellevue, Wash.-based LNG company Prometheus Energy, who is performing the equipment conversions and supplying the LNG fuel.
   Seattle, Wash.-based SSA Marine is the largest U.S. owned, and the largest privately held container terminal operator and cargo handling company in the world, handling about 22 million TEUs per year. The nearly 60-year-old company serves port operations throughout the United States as well as operations in Panama, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, South Africa and New Zealand.