LA pioneers clean ship incentive

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners has recently approved an Environmental Ship Index (ESI) for the port which will take effect on 1 July 2012.

The ESI programme is already underway in fourteen European ports globally. It is a web based tool developed by the World Ports Climate Initiative (WPCI) and a project of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH).

It offers immediate and significant clean air benefits by rewarding vessel operators for voluntary engine, fuel and technology enhancements that reduce ship emissions beyond the regulatory environmental standards set by the IMO.

Port executive director, Geraldine Knatz, who also chairs the WPCI and is the current president of IAPH, said: “The ESI sets the gold standard for green shipping and we encourage other ports to follow suit.”

“The larger success of this programme lies in its adoption by as many ports as possible to increase the rewards for operators willing to invest.”

Under the incentive scheme, operators who call at the port could make $250 to $5,250 per ship by meeting one or more requirements to score 30 or more ESI points – including use of low sulphur fuel, plug in shore power technology and a Ship Energy Efficiency management Plan (SEEMP).

Importantly, POLA’s ESI programme is an opportunity for vessel operators to get ahead of more stringent environmental requirements before they become mandatory.

On 1 January 2014, the new clean air regulations will require ships operating within 24 nautical miles of the California coastline to use fuel with a reduced sulphur content limited to 0.1 percent or less.