Port of LA in Ground-Breaking Eco-Project

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Clean Air Engineering-Maritime (CAEM) has announced it has received California Air Resources Board (CARB) approval for the first commercially-ready ship emissions capturing system called the ‘Maritime Emissions Treatment System’ (METS), which will be positioned alongside ships berthed at the Port of Los Angeles.

The system is positioned over vessels’ smoke stacks and captures and treats more than 90% of particulate matter and related diesel pollutants.

METS is the first CARB-approved alternative to ‘plugging in’ to shore-side power – also called cold-ironing or ‘Alternative Maritime Power’ – which is the current standard for meeting California’s ‘Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Auxiliary Diesel Engines Operated on Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth in a California Port’ (At-Berth) regulation.

Since January 1, 2014, vessel operators not complying with the regulation run the risk of not meeting these emissions standards and being hit with significant fines. 

To read a Technical Paper on energy transiation at ports, click here

Nick Tonsich, CEO of CAEM, said: “The METS-1 will have an immediate, direct and positive impact on the communities surrounding the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. In the long term, given the fact that there are so many ships in the world’s fleet without cold-ironing capability, the METS system could have a profound impact on the entire shipping industry and our global environment.”

Gene Seroka, Executive Director at the Port of Los Angeles, said: “In recent years, we have supported development of this technology through our Technology Advancement Program. With CARB verification approval, this is now a solution that other ports can consider to lower vessel emissions in their harbors and surrounding communities.”

More than a decade ago, the Port of Los Angeles pioneered development of Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) for cargo ships. Today, 24 berths at the Port of Los Angeles are equipped for shore power, the most of any port in the world.

Partial funding for the METS project came from a US$1.5 million grant from the Port of Los Angeles’s Technology Advancement Program (TAP) to TraPac, LLC, a container terminal located in the Port of Los Angeles.

The recent congestion issues at the Port of Los Angeles were raising concerns of the effects that this was causing to the environment, as many ships were left waiting for longer periods of time to turnaround their ships while not switching off power.

Fact File: Clean Air Engineering-Maritime has a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of the communities surrounding the port and a lasting effect on our planet’s delicate ecosystem. CAE-Maritime provides an alternative to shore power at berths for ocean going vessels that cannot or choose not to use shore power.

See below for a video of the solution:

(Source: Port of Los Angeles (YouTube))

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