August 6, 2016
by Eric Kirkendall
July 28, 2016
by Eric Kirkendall
This week, the Taiwan-based shipping firm Wan Hai announced an agreement with the Advanced Environmental Group to build a barge outfiltted with the Advanced Maritime Emission Control System (AMECS), an innovative and highly effective pollution scrubbing system. Wan Hai will use the AMECS system to clean the emissions of their ships when they call at the Port of Long Beach, protecting the health of port workers and the community.
“We believe that environmental sustainability and economic prosperity are two sides of the same coin and we are always looking for new approaches to reach our zero emissions goal. We applaud Wan Hai for their commitment to green operations.” Port of Long Beach CEO Jon Slangerup
The AMECS is very efficient and can be quickly and easily deployed. It removes 96 percent of particulate matter, 98 percent of NOx, and 99 percent of SO2. It has been certified by the California Air Resources Board as a replacement for shore-power in California’s At-Berth emission reduction program, and can be used by any ship.
Ruben Garcia in front of the AMECS. Image: AEG
The AMECS was developed at the Port of Long Beach by the brilliant entrepreneur Ruben Garcia, and is a fascinating American success story. The Port of Long Beach and Mr. Garcia worked together closely to test the system. Read more about Mr. Garcia in the article linked below.
AMECS was used in 2015 to clean the emissions from the largest container ship to ever visit North America, an Ultra Large Container Vessel capable of carrying 18,000 ocean containers.
Wan Hai is a 30-year-old shipping company that calls on over 40 international ports using a fleet of almost 100 ships. For more information read:
This green entrepreneur was once an undocumented farmworker, Grist
Wan Hai and AEG signed cooperation agreement aim to reduce emission pollution at Port of Long Beach, Bunker Port News
April 24, 2016
by Eric Kirkendall
With corrections –
Earlier this year, Los Angelenos and others who care about public health were shocked when the huge container ship Benjamin Franklin visited the Port of Long Beach, and we learned it could not be run on shore power at its berth.
Reportedly, it has the capability, but its systems are not compatible with some or all POLB shore power systems.
Without the capability to run air conditioners, pumps, and other infrastructure using shore power, a ship that size can generate as much pollution as 40,000 cars, as it sits continuously running its engines while at dock, with very bad health consequences.
As we As described in Amazing technology can eliminate pollution from docked cargo ships, the Port of Long Beach and its neighbors were saved from a big dose of diesel exhaust air pollution by Ruben Garcia, owner of Advanced Environmental Group, who deployed the Advanced Maritime Emission Control System (AMECS) to scrub the pollution as it came out of the stacks of the ship.
In March, the ships owner, CMA CGM, announced they would send this and other similar ships to West Coast ports every week, sending port operators into a “frenzy”, and dismaying public health experts.
Well – we got good news this week. The shipping company, CMA CGM, has decided NOT to deploy its fleet of six mega-ships to the West Coast for the foreseeable future.
While they say that it was because the market isn’t ready, it is clear that work needs to be done. Without the capability to use shore power, every visit of their mega container ships would cost the health of workers and nearby residents.
Whatever the reason, it’s a good thing, at least for now. In the future, might the powers-that-be in Los Angeles and Long Beach stand up for their residents and say, “No, you can’t visit our port until you can do it without endangering our workers and nearby communities”?
I hope so.