London Firm Picked for ‘Green’ Port Terminal

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission on Wednesday tapped a London-based shipping firm to set up a “green terminal,” marking the first time the nation’s largest seaport has crafted a lease aimed at reducing air pollution.

Commissioners voted 5 to 0 to begin final negotiations with P&O; Nedlloyd Container Lines, the world’s fourth-largest container shipping firm, which has promised to use cutting-edge clean-air technology at the site. The port staff had recommended the firm’s proposal as the most sound of five submitted by shipping companies vying for the lucrative lease for 86 acres on Terminal Island.

“P&O; had the best proposal, both environmentally and financially,” Harbor Commission President Nicholas Tonsich said after the vote. He called the firm the most responsive to the wishes of the commission and Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn to create a “green” terminal at Berths 206 to 209, known as the Matson site.

The vote came after more than two years of stalled talks and speculation that politics could derail the port’s pledge to create a terminal that would be a national model in reducing emissions.

It was the first time that the port conducted a formal bidding process for a tenant and coincided with federal and local investigations into city contracting practices. City Controller Laura Chick announced in November that she would scrutinize the port’s earlier decision to throw out the first set of bids for the Matson site.

With some critics saying that Hahn’s administration favored rival Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp., P&0 Nedlloyd became so suspicious of favoritism that it filed a petition in court last month, alleging irregularities in the process and seeking to halt the second round of bidding. But on Wednesday, P&O; Nedlloyd executives expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

“We’re delighted, absolutely delighted,” said Wim Lagaay, senior vice president and general manager of corporate operations, as he left the commission meeting. “We worked long and hard on this project.”

Port-area residents and clean-air activists applauded the choice.

“This shows you can profitably have a clean terminal. Clearly P&O; thinks it’s in their financial interest to move forward with a terminal that incorporates many green measures,” said Gail Ruderman Feuer, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The most expensive measure is “cold ironing,” in which ships turn off their polluting diesel engines while docked and plug into onshore electric power. Currently, most ships at the port idle their engines to generate power, which produces nitrogen oxide and diesel pollution and helps make the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex the largest air polluter in Southern California.

P&O; Nedlloyd has promised that within three years all of its ships calling at Los Angeles will plug in. It also expects to pay the port $57 million over five years in revenue, the most of any bidder.

Also on Wednesday, commissioners approved a plan to spend $52.9 million over four years on methods to reduce pollution, including the use of cleaner-burning engines and the use of low-sulfur fuel in cargo handling equipment.