Port of Los Angeles Develops Innovative Strategic and Sustainable Operations (USA)

The Port of Los Angeles has received final approval from the U.S. Coast Guard to install a hybrid propulsion system on its 42-year-old harbor tour boat, the Angelena II. Upon completion later this spring, the Angelena II will be the first harbor craft of its kind retrofitted with a hybrid propulsion system that will reduce emissions and fuel usage by more than 95 percent.

Since its construction in 1970, the Angelena II had been powered by two 350-horsepower diesel engines that, as of September 2011, no longer met California emissions requirements. While the Port is spending approximately $200,000 for the cost to replace the existing diesel engines (required by the Coast Guard, for back-up power), the Port applied for and received an approximately $500,000 U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to upgrade the vessel power system to cleaner technology. Installation and repair work is being done by city workers, including electricians, carpenters and others.

“The Angelena II is an invaluable business and public education tool, and now we can also use it to demonstrate yet another emerging technology that can reduce emissions in ports and harbors around the world,” said Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D. “The Port has provided more than $100 million to help fund these kinds of technologies and reduce overall emissions in the LA Harbor.”

Between 2005 and 2010, Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions at the Port have been reduced 69 to 70 percent; Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) emissions have been reduced by 50 percent; and Sulfur Oxide (SOx) emissions by 75 percent.

Purchased by the Port in 1988, the 73-foot Angelena II is used to highlight the capabilities of the Port facilities with customers, constituents, public leaders, foreign dignitaries, media and stakeholders. The Port provides several hundred tours annually on the Angelena II, which takes a maximum of 40 guests for 60- to 90-minute tours that highlight the value of the Port. In 2011, the Port hosted more than 4,000 visitors on Angelena II tours.

The Angelena II plays an important role in educating elected officials and federal and state government personnel about the role of ports and the need to provide funding for projects such as dredging, security, transportation infrastructure and terminal expansion. This education has assisted the Port in receiving millions of dollars in funding for the development and security of Port infrastructure.

The Port of Los Angeles is America’s premier port and has a strong commitment to developing innovative strategic and sustainable operations that benefit the economy as well as the quality of life for the region and the nation it serves. As the leading seaport in North America in terms of shipping container volume and cargo value, the Port supports more than 830,000 regional jobs and $35 billion in annual wages and tax revenues.

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Dredging Today Staff, February 6, 2012; Image: portoflosangeles