Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - September 2008 - (Page 47)

shortly,” says Solomon. The effort is a partnership with the California Air Resources Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Another technique drawing interest from the shipping community is a switch to low-sulfur fuels for auxiliary engines, when a ship is within a certain distance of a port. Such a program is already in place at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but APL is considering an additional measure by using the cleaner fuel in its main engines as well. Solomon says the line might try out the idea on a few ships before deciding whether it’s viable. Ultra-low-sulfur fuel is also in use for cargo-handling equipment at APL terminals in Los Angeles and Oakland. Controversy has long surrounded the issue of cold ironing, a technique where ships shut down their own power plants while at berth, and switch to shoreside electricity. For years, vessel owners have claimed that the technology is lacking for such a plan to work economically. Now, as public concern over ship-stack emissions grows, a handful of ports are looking into cold ironing, with APL recently conducting a demonstration trial at the Port of Oakland. According to the Port of Los Angeles, cold ironing eliminates one ton of emissions per day, for each ship plugged into shore power. NYK Line Hooks Up Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) completed a successful trial of cold ironing at Los Angeles late last year. The NYK Atlas ran on shore power for the three days it was in port. The line has said it will deploy 38 containerships with Alternative Marine Power (AMP) over the next several years, at a cost of $22m. Peter Keller, president of NYK Line (North America) Inc., is reluctant to say which of the carrier’s green programs promises the best results. “That’s sort of like trying to pick your favorite child,” he says. “A lot of it will depend on the region.” In areas of high pollution such as Southern California, carriers and ports are actively involved in cold ironing, alternative fuels and other air-quality initiatives. But in the bulk tanker sector, double hulling and spill prevention are paramount concerns. The Grand Alliance, a slot-sharing agreement of which NYK is a member, recently added a ninth vessel to its JapanNorth Europe service, in part to allow for slower speeds in that lane. The move will reduce emissions by 20 to 30 percent, the carriers claim. Other members of the Grand Alliance are Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd AG, Malaysia’s MISC Berhad and Hong Kong’s OOCL. The group has adopted “ecospeeds” in three other major services, but has no GLOBAL LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES 47

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Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - August 2008 Contents Editorial GL&SCS Exclusive Fast Forward Up Front Cover Story: Free The Enterprise: Busting Silos in the Supply Chain Business Process Management Merits New Look fromCorporate Strategists Ships and Ports Explore Many Ways to Go Green The Right Information Should Help Avoid Any Kind of Risk Industry Voices

Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - September 2008

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