APL retrofits five ships for cold-ironing

By on Jul 26, 2010

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 vesselswith cold-ironingcapabilities 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 $48 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