Cold ironing will be added to a new berth in the Port of Los Angeles as part of a terminal expansion project, Bunkerworld has learned.

The expansion at the Berth 97-109 China Shipping Container Line terminal will allow ships of up to 10,000 TEUs to plug into shore power.

Currently, ships can cold iron at berth 100, but the project includes a new wharf at berth 102 with the 15-month construction period expected to start in 2009.

Details of the project were released this week as part of revised environmental assessment documents made available ahead of a public meeting scheduled for June 5.

Targets for the number of ships using the terminal to plug in to shore power will be 90% of vessels starting in January 2010 and 100% in 2011.

The project will allow a substantial increase in container volumes at the terminal: from 403,200 TEUs in 2005 to 1.164 million by 2015 and 1.551 million TEUs in 2030. Ship visits are expected to climb from 52 in 2005 to 182 and 234 by 2015 and 2030, respectively.

With the additional emissions from more ship visits and related container handling activities, other mitigation measures included in the project - alongside cold ironing - include 100% compliance with the port's vessel speed reduction scheme starting in 2009, and low-sulphur fuel use in all ship engines with targets rising from 30% in 2009 to 50% in 2010 and 100% from 2013.

If adopted, the project will be part of a revised lease agreement between China Shipping and the port backdated to 2005 and running through until 2045.

Under the joint San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan with the Port of Long Beach, the port authority will use lease agreements with tenants to incorporate new environmental measures.

The two ports have also announced a one-year incentive scheme for visiting ships to use low-sulphur distillate fuel in their main engines, ahead of expected regulations from the California Air Resources Board (ARB).

Last year, China Shipping's Xin Ya Zhou (meaning 'New Asia'), used the Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) cold-ironing facilities at berth 100 for the first time. At 8,500 TEUs it was the largest container ship to cold iron in Los Angeles, the port said at the time.

By 2030, China Shipping has predicted that 25% of its ships visiting the port will be in the 8-9,000 TEU range - up from 10% in 2010 - and 8% of ships will be 9-11,000 TEUs in size.