Under the pact, the port would rely upon regional air quality authorities to oversee a demonstration project to thoroughly assess both the safety and the pollution-reducing effectiveness of a mobile, barge-mounted emissions control system to capture and treat ships' smokestack emissions. The port will fund the total project cost of $2,063,624.
The new system could provide an alternative to shore power, allowing ships to run their engines to produce the power they need for lighting, communications, pumps, refrigeration, etc. The "Alternative Maritime Emission Control System" or "AMECS," diverts a docked ship's emissions into an air-pollution filter-and-treatment device.
A Rancho Dominguez, Calif.,-based company, Advanced Cleanup Technology Inc. or ACTI, developed the AMECS technology. Under the agreement, the South Coast Air Quality Management District will supervise the testing on behalf of the Port, with Harbor Department staff oversight.
