Tag: California

The Port of Oakland announces the development and operation of the world’s latest next-generation cold storage and logistics facility, Cool Port; a temperature controlled transload and distribution facility to maximize use of the Port’s road, rail, and shipping network to increase the import and export of perishable food products. 

California Air Resources Board plans to develop more requirements for Commercial Harbor Craft, in order to reduce emissions from Commercial Harbor Craft operated within Regulated California Waters.  CARB will propose new requirements for stricter in-use and new vessel requirements for both freight-related and passenger vessels.

The Port of San Diego is preparing for the future sea level rise and has taken practical measures to mitigate this problem. Namely, at the location of a future hotel and convention center in Chula Vista, the Port trucked enough soil to raise the ground level by 14 feet. The fill dirt project started in August and finished last week. 

California's Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed a legislation to block new federal offshore oil drilling along California’s coast, and announced the state’s opposition to the federal government’s plan to expand oil drilling on public lands in California. The legislation prohibits new leases for new construction of oil and gas-related infrastructure.

Recently, there has been an increase in cases where vessels calling at California ports are issued deficiencies by inspectors from the State Lands Commission (SLC) for a failure to submit Ballast Water Management Reports (BWMR) for each port of call, according to an alert by ECM Maritime Services.

The Port of Long Beach will use a $5.3 million grant from the California Air Resources Board to deploy hydrogen- and electric-powered cargo-handling equipment at two shipping terminals. The funds for the project is part of California Climate Investments, an initiative to reduce GHG emissions, improving the environment. 

The Port of Long Beach is moving ahead with a $16.8 million project to build infrastructure to support electric-powered, zero-emissions cargo-handling equipment, and to demonstrate the world’s first heavy-duty, off-road, direct current fast-charging system in a seaport environment.

California clean air regulations intended to minimize air pollution from ships have been proven vital for saving whales, according to a recent report issued in the journal Ocean & Coastal Management. To comply and conserve fuel, vessels have slowed down, which has resulted in fewer whales being killed due to collisions with ships.

California started an initiative to reduce air pollution and protect whales. The program "Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies" will start on July 1 and will last until November 15, 2018, establishing vessel speed reduction zones in the Santa Barbara Channel region and San Francisco Bay area.

The California Air Resources Board fined the Mediterranean Shipping Company $350,000.00 for violating air quality regulations. Namely, four MSC ships did not comply with fuel regulations. More specifically, an investigation by the ARB showed that four MSC vessels, one vessel twice, failed to comply with the OGV Fuel Regulation.