SEATTLE, March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- In its latest effort to improve coastal air quality and limit the environmental impact of world trade growth, global container shipping leader APL announced today it will convert vessels to cleaner-burning, low-sulfur fuel when they call the Port of Seattle.
APL, the world's eighth-largest carrier and a long-recognized leader in Transpacific trade, announced that all vessels in its Pacific South 1 Service (PS1) will burn low-sulfur fuel in auxiliary engines while berthed in Seattle. Auxiliary engines provide power to ships when they are tied up at port.
Speaking from the bridge of the APL Coral in the Port of Seattle, APL Americas President John Bowe said conversion to low-sulfur fuel could reduce diesel particulate matter emissions 75% while APL ships are in port. Emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) -- a contributing factor in the creation of acid rain -- could be cut 80%, Bowe added. Over the course of a year, 3.5 tons of particulate matter emissions will be eliminated and 30 tons of SOx.
"We are taking this step unilaterally because it's the right thing to do and absolutely essential if we are going to meet the growing demands of containerized trade," said Bowe, who was joined by Dennis McLerran, Executive Director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, and Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton in making the announcement. "There is no regulatory requirement for low-sulfur fuel in Seattle," Bowe added, "but we have got a responsibility to soften our impact on the communities we serve."
It was the second major environmental initiative from APL in the past three months. Last December, the carrier announced conversion of the 23 vessels in its California services to low-sulfur fuel. At the same time it announced a partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and California air quality boards to test innovative fuel emulsification technology that could significantly reduce pollutants from vessel exhaust.
"We are extremely pleased with APL's commitment to use lower-sulfur fuels when calling on Seattle," said McLerran. "As our ports grow it is important that we take steps to reduce emissions so that growth can be sustainable and protect our environment. Reducing diesel emissions is a high priority for us as it will help reduce air toxics risk and the adverse health effects of breathing dirty air such as asthma. We applaud APL for its leadership and environmental stewardship in initiating this low-sulfur fuel program."
Added Creighton: "Protecting air and water quality in the Puget Sound basin is a top priority of the Port Commission, and we are proud to count APL as one of the port's key economic and environmental partners. We commend APL for their leadership in taking voluntary steps to reduce air emissions."
Vessel emissions are the latest target in APL's effort to curb pollution, Bowe said, but not the only one. He pointed out that the carrier has undertaken numerous landside air initiatives at its West Coast marine terminals in Seattle, Los Angeles and Oakland, including:
-- Use of cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel in container-handling equipment at APL's Global Gateway North terminal in the Port of Seattle; -- Extending rail lines all the way to the dock at its Seattle and Los Angeles terminals to avoid transporting containers by truck to public rail ramps miles away; and -- Replacement of 300 aging yard tractors with newer, more environmentally friendly models.
"We are proud of what we have accomplished to date," said Bowe, "but we are not done yet. We intend to keep working on environmental initiatives and keep innovating so that we can balance the demand for freight transportation with the need to protect air quality on our coast."
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