PORT ACTIVITY UPDATE (III

PORT ACTIVITY UPDATE Long Beach celebrates completion of Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project

Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) and the Port of Long Beach held a grand opening Aug. 20 to celebrate the completion of the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project. The modernization project has transformed two aging terminals into one of the world’s most technologically advanced container terminals.

LBCT at Middle Harbor is a 300acre facility powered almost entirely by electricity that can handle up to 3.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually. On its own, it would rank as America’s sixth-busiest container port.

“This engineering marvel sets a new standard for international shipping, goods movement and many other industries, said Port Executive Director Mario Cordero. “It is a global model of efficiency and sustainability.”

From concept to construction, LBCT and the Port partnered to develop this state-of-the-art terminal. The process has taken about the same number of years it takes a student to get from preschool to college, with LBCT functioning as a working terminal the whole time. “We chose to do the right thing the right way. We can proudly and confidently state we are the cleanest container terminal in North America,” said LBCT CEO Anthony Otto.

Built in three phases, LBCT represents an investment of nearly $1.5 billion in infrastructure by the Port and another $700 million in cargo handling equipment, highly sophisticated computer and software systems, and workforce training by LBCT. Now that the final phase is opening, LBCT has more than double the capacity of the two terminals it replaced.

“Efficiency is everything,” said Otto. “We designed the yard so that we can move more TEUs per acre.” Long Beach Container Terminal at Middle Harbor is a 300acre facility powered almost entirely by electricity that can handle up to 3.3 million TEUs annually.

Highlights include a 4,200-foot long wharf where up to three 14,000TEU ships can plug into shore power and be worked simultaneously; 14 of the world’s first tandem-lift dualhoist ship-to-shore cranes, each of which can discharge or load four TEUs at the same time and handle up to 35 container moves per hour; 102 electrified automated guided vehicles that transport containers between the docks and the yard; and 72 electric automatic stacking cranes that manage container staging, priorities and movements. Next-generation technology streamlines container moves by allowing the terminal to stage and stack inbound, outbound and empty containers together; and advanced computer systems optimize every move each piece of equipment makes in coordination with every other piece of equipment.

LBCT also has the on-dock rail yard capacity to move more than one million TEUs annually. Consisting of eight working tracks and four storage tracks operated by five rail mounted electric gantry cranes, the rail yard is one of the world’s largest, where over 1-mile-long trains can be built on-site, allowing up to 35 percent of containers to be transported by rail. On the trucking side, the terminal has two gates, 37 dedicated truck lanes with kiosk connectivity to the terminal’s service system, and space for additional staging to avoid traffic congestion and bottlenecks.

Nearly 200 pieces of cargo handling equipment — ship-to-shore cranes, automated guided vehicles, and stacking cranes — run entirely on electricity and make up the largest zero-emissions fleet on any marine container terminal in the world. The only diesel equipment LBCT uses is a small fleet of yard tractors, the cleanest available Tier 4 models, to transport containers to and from the on-dock rail yard. LBCT deployed the tractors because their zero-emissions counterparts have yet to become commercially available. Meanwhile, Long Beach Container Terminal at Middle Harbor is serving as a testing ground for allelectric utility tractor rigs and an allelectric top handler.

The Port’s environmental policies and mitigation measures shaped the framework for the new terminal’s cleanest available equipment and sustainable operations. Middle Harbor’s environmental impact report was prepared during the creation and adoption of the 2005 Green Port Policy and the original 2006 Clean Air Action Plan. The lease was finalized in 2012 in the wake of the 2010 CAAP Update.

As the Port’s first comprehensive terminal redevelopment project in the wake of its environmental covenants, Middle Harbor was the test case for how to move forward to balance business and sustainability. The project’s successful completion represents change that goes way beyond clean infrastructure and equipment.

Given the amount of power the terminal needs, mitigation measures included those aimed at reducing energy consumption. LBCT invested in cranes that have regenerative power

capabilities on down cycles and solar panels throughout the facility. Also, vessels calling at the terminal are required to use low-sulfur fuel, reduce vessel speeds to 12 knots within 40 nautical miles of Point Fermin, and plug in 100 percent of container ships at berth to shoreside electric power — a lease condition more stringent than California’s requirement to plug in 80 percent of all container, cruise and refrigerated or reefer vessels at the state’s largest ports.

By investing in all-electric automated guided vehicles, LBCT went above and beyond the emissions reduction measures stipulated in the project’s environmental impact report and incorporated into the terminal’s lease. “We were required to meet environmental standards higher than anyone else in the country and we embraced it,” said Otto, who praised the leadership and vision of LBCT’s longtime owner, OOCL, for accepting the challenge of creating a near zero-emissions terminal. Midway through construction, China COSCO Shipping acquired OOCL, which forced the 2018 sale of LBCT. The new owner, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, shares OOCL’s commitment to the environment, said Otto. “A very good company bought a very good terminal and continues to invest in zeroemissions operations. This includes buying four more electric ship-to-shore cranes and another electric on-dock rail crane.”

While all LBCT’s cranes and offroad vehicles are next-generation versions of traditional cargo handling equipment, one terminal feature is entirely new: the battery exchange and charging building. The three-story structure is where each automated guided vehicle swaps out its spent 12-ton battery for a fully charged one. The automated exchange takes about five minutes, allowing the vehicle to immediately return to service while the used battery gets the full eight hours it needs to recharge.

Five structures on the site are built to gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for sustainable design, construction and use, which include water and energy conservation and reuse of recycled materials. Four have already earned gold LEED certification: two operations buildings, the crane maintenance facility and the chassis repair shop. Gold certification is pending for the fifth structure, LBCT’s administration building.

Middle Harbor is also driving economic growth beyond the Port. The additional cargo moving through the terminal is generating an estimated 14,000 new jobs across the nation. The new terminal is proof that the port industry can increase efficiency, reduce pollution and boost the economy.

“We’ve shown it can be done,” said Otto. “We are almost a decade ahead of where the Port of Long Beach and California want all marine container terminals to be in 2030.”

The state-of-the-art Long Beach Container Terminal has set a high standard for other ports to follow.

As the Port’s first comprehensive terminal redevelopment project in the wake of its environmental covenants, Middle Harbor was the test case for how to move forward to balance business and sustainability.