Grant will be used to “cold iron” TOTE ships

Grant will be used to “cold iron” TOTE ships

Grant will be used to “cold iron” TOTE ships

   Nearly $1.5 million in grant money recently awarded to the Port of Tacoma will allow Totem Ocean Trailer Express Inc. to reduce particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions of its vessels by an estimated 90 percent while at TOTE's Tacoma terminal.
   The Port of Tacoma will add 600,000-volt electrical maritime power at the terminal and TOTE will retrofit its two Orca-class ships with electrical power plug-ins. The shoreside power will allow the ships to “cold iron” — turn off their engines while docked, eliminating at-berth diesel idling during the 12 hours each vessel is in the Port of Tacoma each week.
   The grant for the project was awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, and the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program.
   TOTE has committed to contributing $283,000 to complete the project, which is scheduled to be operational by September 2010. Additional retrofitting work will be completed on each vessel during its regularly scheduled dry-docking this winter.
   TOTE is a privately owned shipping company operating roll-on/roll-off cargo vessels between the ports of Tacoma and Anchorage, Alaska, since 1975.