Asian shipping lines agree to LA program to fight smog
Monday November 25, 2002LOS ANGELES (AP) Several of Asia's largest shipping lines have agreed to participate in a city-sponsored program aimed at reducing the amount of smog at the port of Los Angeles.
The ``alternative maritime power'' program the first of its kind to target shippers will allow large cargo ships to cut their engines and plug into the city's power system while they are docked at the port, Mayor James Hahn told the Los Angeles Times in an article published Monday.
About 2,200 cargo ships entered the port in 2001 with each staying an average of two days. The typical medium-sized cargo ship burns 7 tons of heavy bunker fuel a day while docked, contributing to poor air quality in the region, city officials said.
Although the U.S. Navy uses a similar model and cruise ships docking in Juneau, Alaska, participate in a similar program, no other city offers electrical power to major shipping lines, the Times said.
``The benefits of this will be huge,'' Hahn said. ``For years, especially in the fall ... you can actually see a brown haze over the port because of the ships running their diesel engines.''
Hahn, who is completing a 10-day promotional tour of Asia, has met with officials from Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. in Tokyo. He has plans to meet with representatives of China Shipping in Shanghai, Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. in Hong Kong and Yang Ming Line and Evergreen Marine Corp. in Taipei.
Together, those are some of the world's largest shipping companies, and each has indicated a willingness to participate in the program, the Times said.
As part of the program, the shipping lines will need to retrofit their ships at a cost of about $500,000 each, but would save money on the fuel the ships now have to carry to run their engines while in port.
For its part, the DWP would need to build an underground substation at the port and make other improvements that are expected to cost $50 million to $60 million over about 10 years, according to DWP Executive Director David Wiggs. Those infrastructure changes could be handled by the municipal utility without increasing rates to customers, he said.
Wiggs, who is traveling with the mayor and other city officials, said the DWP could generate $25 million to $30 million a year if the program is successful.
``This could be a model it's a source of new income for the department at the same time we're reducing emissions,'' Wiggs said. ``This is the best of both worlds.''
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