CHINA SHIPPING CELEBRATES A DECADE OF CONTAINER SERVICE AT THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES
SAN PEDRO, Calif. — December 1, 2009 — China Shipping celebrates its 10-year anniversary of service with the Port of Los Angeles this month. The shipping line leases a high-volume container terminal that ranks as one of the Port’s busiest operators and is in the midst of a major expansion project that will increase throughput, create thousands of jobs and reduce air emissions.
“The Port of Los Angeles is proud to have China Shipping as a business partner,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D. “It has been a great privilege for the Port to have one of the industry’s leaders provide a direct link between the U.S. West Coast and the Pacific Rim. And with China Shipping’s expansion project, the company will be well prepared for further growth. ”
China Shipping operates the West Basin Container Terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, located at Berth 100 in San Pedro. The terminal currently features four super post-Panamax cranes, and handles both wheeled and grounded containerized cargo operations, serving the China Shipping, Yang Ming, K-Line, Cosco, Hanjin, Sinotrans, and Zim shipping lines. China Shipping also has a joint venture with a neighboring container terminal at the Port, operated by Yang Ming Shipping Line.
China Shipping service with the Port of Los Angeles first started on December 3, 1999, when the M/V Trade Apollo, a 2,500-TEU container ship, called at the Yang Ming Terminal from the Port of Xiamen, China. Today, some of the world’s largest containerships routinely call at the Port of Los Angeles’ West Basin Container Terminal, where fleet size range from nearly 5,000- to 10,000-TEU loaded vessels.
“We look back to the path we took over the past decade and celebrate the triumphs,” said Chairman Li Shaode of China Shipping. “We take pride in our past accomplishments and we want to build on them. We view this anniversary as a new beginning, starting on a new journey hand in hand with our partners.”
China Shipping is in the midst of a six-year expansion project at the Port of Los Angeles. Upon completion, container terminal capacity will increase to accommodate an annual throughput of 1.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalents, or 20-foot containers). The facility will expand to 142 acres of backland and 2,500 feet of wharves served by 10 Post-Panamax cranes.
A series of environmental projects are included in the expansion project, including:
- The use of Alternative Maritime Power™ (AMP™) by all cargo ships calling at the terminal by 2011. AMP™ eliminates the release of roughly a ton of ship emissions every 24 hours a ship is at berth. China Shipping was the first container terminal in the world to use AMP™ when it opened the West Basin Container Terminal at Berth 100 in 2004. AMP™ is a one-of-a-kind air quality program that focuses on reducing emissions from vessels docked at the Port of Los Angeles. Instead of running on diesel power while at berth, AMP™-equipped ships “plug in” to shore side electrical power – literally an alternative power source for oceangoing vessels.
- Use of low-sulfur fuel on container ships within 40 nautical miles of the Port.
- One hundred percent compliance with the Port’s Vessel Speed Reduction Program (VSRP) for ships transiting within 40 nautical miles of the Port.
- Use of alternative-fueled tractors.
- Use of electric rubber-tired gantry cranes.
- Diesel particulate filters for use on lower-emission switcher locomotives.
- A main terminal building constructed to “Gold” certification-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
The China Shipping project also includes several community beautification initiatives, including the development of a new community park in San Pedro (Plaza Park), implementing a Beautification Plan along area corridors and extensive landscaping along Front Street, which runs parallel to the terminal perimeter.
Last year, with the help of China Shipping, the Port of Los Angeles imported nearly 4 million TEUs originating from China and Hong Kong – a staggering 61% of all imports.
China Shipping Group was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Shanghai. The company operates five ship fleets of more than 430 vessels with a total carrying capacity of nearly 500,000 TEUs, which includes container ships, oil tankers, bulk ships, passenger ships, and specialized cargo ships.