K-Line vessel plugs in for clean air

A dockside commissioning ceremony at the International Transportation Service (ITS) terminal marked the completion of a US$8m project that installed electrical power outlets for ships docking at Pier G – the Port of Long Beach’s first shoreside power berth. Plug-in shoreside power, also known as ‘cold-ironing,’ allows ships to shut down their auxiliary engines while the ship is docked, for a 100% reduction of air pollution at berth. Without shoreside electricity, vessels would use their own diesel-powered auxiliary engines to power refrigerated containers, pumps, lighting, air conditioning and computers while at dock.

“Because many ships burn unclean bunker fuel, shutting down their engines achieves major air quality improvements immediately,” said Harbour Commission President James Hankla.

Ships account for about half of port-related air pollution, much of it from the vessels’ auxiliary engines. Shutting down a single ship’s diesel engines at berth for a day achieves the same air quality improvements as taking 33,000 cars off Southern California roads.