Cold ironing: APL ships to plug into Oakland shore power

SINGAPORE's Neptune Orient Lines' container arm APL has completed rigging five containerships for "cold ironing" that enables them to plug into shore power this winter at APL's marine terminal in Oakland.

By shutting down shipboard generators, APL expects to eliminate 50,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide emissions annually, plus remove 1,500 pounds of particulate matter emissions a year, the carrier said in a statement.

"We are committed to reducing the impact of global trade on the environment," said APL Americas president Gene Seroka. "Equipping our vessels for cold ironing is tangible evidence that we are advancing on the goal."

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.

The ships are scheduled to plug in at port beginning early in 2011. That's when APL expects to finish a construction project to electrify its Oakland vessel berths for cold ironing.

APL has been awarded two grants, totalling US$4.8 million, for the cold ironing project. Part of that funding helped finance the month-long retrofit of each ship.
(Source:www.schednet.com)