First of Evergreen’s ?green? ships makes maiden call in Los Angeles

First of EvergreenÆs ôgreenö ships makes maiden call in Los Angeles    The 'Hatsu Sigma,' a 7,032-TEU vessel that Taiwanese ocean carrier Evergreen Group said is the cleanest containership in the world, made its maiden call to the United States Monday in Los Angeles.
   The 'Sigma,' the first of 10 ships in Evergreen's S-series, employs a host of environmentally sensitive features that the company displayed for media and port officials Monday, including: a double-skin hull; a main fuel tank that sits inside columns of containers to prevent oil leakage in an accident; a self-containing bilge pump; and the capability to hook up to electrical shoreside power when docked.
   The ship also has a reserve fuel tank that allows the ship to run on low-sulfur fuel, a provision that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is trying to mandate for all new containerships arriving in the United States.
   It's likely five of the S-series 'green' ships will be employed in the Asia/Europe trade, while the other five will be used in the transpacific to serve the U.S. West Coast.
   The 'Sigma' was delivered Nov. 14 in Japan, built by Mitsubishi Shipyard, and is being deployed in the 35-day Trans-Pacific Southwest Service with stops in Yantian, China; Hong Kong; Kaoshiung, Taiwan; Los Angeles; and Tacoma.
   The vessel has a top speed of 25.8 knots, and stretches 940 feet long and 17 containers wide.
   Evergreen officials said the cost to environmentally upgrade the series of 10 ships will exceed $20 million.