Port of L.A., China Shipping make environmental pact
Facing community pressures to control pollution emissions, the port of Los Angeles and Shanghai-based Container Shipping Lines have reached a final agreement on the use of the shipping line’s berth 100 in the port, its contribution to environmental funds and the future expansion of the container berth.
Berth 100, which opened in May, allows vessels to use “clean” shore electric power, instead of burning bunker oil for their power generators while at the dock.
In addition to the $50-million stipulated agreement of March 2003, the final settlement agreement, signed by Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs on Monday, calls for:
* Phasing in ships at the terminal that use shore-based power, with a goal of 70 percent of ships using this source by July 1, 2005.
* A $3.5-million deposit by the port into a “community and aesthetic mitigation fund” for the creation of parks and open space off port lands.
* Installation by the port of low profile cranes in the second phase of development of the China Shipping terminal at berth 102.
* The port will analyze the “aesthetic impacts,” if any, of the container gantry cranes.
According to the port of Los Angeles, retrofitting containerships to be able to use shore electric power costs between $200,000 and $500,000 per ship. The port said it designed the technology, dubbed “Alternative Maritime Power.”