AMP‘ success for post-PANAMAX vessel at the Port of Los Angeles

Global engineering group, Cavotec MSL, is proud to announce the successful connection of a post-PANAMAX container vessel to shore-based Alternative Maritime Power (AMP‘) at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) in California.

AMP‘, or ‘cold ironing’, involves vessels turning off their engines while in port, and connecting to shore-side electricity, thus helping to reduce pollution in port areas and surrounding communities.

“The success of this trial, the first with a ship of this size, shows that AMP‘ is viable for larger vessels. With the cost of diesel fuel continuing to rise, grid supplied power offers increasingly better value for operators; so AMP‘ makes clear business as well as environmental sense,” says Ottonel Popesco, Cavotec CEO.

China Shipping Line vessel, Xin Ya Zhou, successfully transferred its power supply for on board systems from its engines to a shore based AMP‘ system. Post-PANAMAX ships have dimensions that are too great to allow passage through the Panama Canal. The Xin Ya Zhou is such a vessel, with a capacity of 8,600 containers, or TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units).

“The ship transferred from on board power to shore power without any problems. A heartfelt thanks and a ‘job well done’ is due to all involved for their dedication and hard work,” says Vahik Haddadian, Senior Building Electrical Engineer at POLA.