The largest container ship yet to plug into shore power will be berthed at the Port of Los Angeles today, the port authority has announced.

The China Shipping Container Line vessel Xin Ya Zhou (meaning 'New Asia'), will plug into the Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) berth for the first time.

Berth 100 of the West Basin Container Terminal operated by China Shipping is the only berth to be available for cold ironing, although a second berth, Berth 102, will be operational in 2009, according to port documents.

By shutting down the ship’s auxiliary engines and switching to electricity, more than a tonne of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) are eliminated for each day the vessel is berthed, the port said today.

Ships calling at Berth 100 originally use a specially-equipped barge to house the necessary equipment for ships to access shore power. Now they are able to plug directly into wharf-based infrastructure.

The Xin Ya Zhou has a container capacity of 8,500 TEU and also includes other 'green' features such additional protection for internal fuel tanks and - like many new-generation container vessels - the ability to switch to low-sulphur fuels in its main and auxiliary engines.

Launched in only May this year, it "is the first in a series of five new vessels to join the fleet, which is one of the youngest and most environmentally conscious fleets in the world today", according to China Shipping.

The ship will arrive in the port later this Friday and a welcome reception will take place on Monday.

As part of the joint San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan with the Port of Long Beach, the two port authorities have $180 million set aside to upgrade a number of berths to allow cold ironing.

Container ships from NYK are currently able to plug into AMP facilities at the Yusen terminal, using specially-modified containers onboard the ships.

Taiwanese shipowner Evergreen also deploys a number of cold ironing-ready vessels, its S-class newbuilds, but facilities at the Evergreen terminal in Los Angeles will not be ready until 2008.