The Port of Oakland said this week that diesel particulate emissions from its maritime operations are down 81 percent since 2005 and expressed confidence in reaching a self-imposed goal of an 85 percent reduction by 2020.
San Francisco Bay Area environmental consultancy Ramboll said pollution has decreased despite a 6 percent cargo volume increase. It attributed the improvement to a series of developments, including:
• A port program that purged older, exhaust-belching big rigs from the fleet of trucks hauling containers in Oakland. Truck traffic at the port is also down more than 500,000 trips a year, from 2.62 million one-way truck trips in 2005 and 2.08 million one-way truck trips in 2017. The port said truck traffic has fallen as a result of efficiency improvements such as night gates and appointment systems that make it easier for harbor drivers to transact business.
• Regulations that require containerships to use cleaner-burning low-sulfur fuel and “cold ironing” — switching off engines and plugging into landside power while at berth. While containerships are the biggest source of diesel exhaust at the port, they have declined 80 percent since 2005. Last month 78 percent of container vessels plugged into landside electrical power in 2017. State regulators require that container shipping lines frequently calling California ports plug in at least 70 percent of their vessels. The bar gets raised to 80 percent in 2020 and the port is seeking more plug-ins to reach an 85 percent overall reduction in diesel emissions by 2020. It said the challenge is that some containerships aren’t yet equipped to plug in.
• A 15 percent drop in vessel calls to the port. Vessel traffic in Oakland has declined even though cargo volume is up as ocean carriers have put larger ships into service.
Last month, the port publicly previewed the draft of a new clean air that proposes new emissions control measures for diesel and greenhouse gases. The plan is undergoing community review and expected to be finalized by the end of 2018.