APL retrofits five ships for cold-ironing
APL has moved a step closer to an environmental breakthrough, having completed the retrofit of five vessels for cold-ironing. Cold-ironing enables a ship to turn off its diesel generators at berth and connect to cleaner shore-side power. The clean-air technique will be introduced next winter at APL’s marine terminal in Oakland, California, where APL expects to complete a construction project to electrify its berths for cold-ironing in early-2011. APL will become the first and only carrier or terminal operator at the Port of Oakland to cold-iron vessels. By shutting down shipboard generators in Oakland, APL expects to eliminate 50,000 lbs of nitrogen oxide emissions and 1,500 lbs of particulate matter emission per year. APL has been equipping its C-11 class vessels with cold-ironing capabilities throughout 2010. The last of the five ships returned to service this month from the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore. APL has been awarded two grants for the cold-ironing project, which totalled $4.8 million – part of which helped to finance the month-long retrofit of each ship. Apart from cold-ironing, other measures announced by APL to curb vessel air emissions include slow steaming, the use of low-sulphur fuel at port and an extensive test of emulsified fuel. Quelle: eyefortransport |