A Cavotec AMP application at the Port of Los Angeles
In an example of genuine progress on making the ports industry more environmentally sustainable, the Port of Long Beach – one of the busiest ports in the US – has reported a significant improvement in air quality at the port. According to a report published on June 14, pollution levels at the port fell in 2009 – the third consecutive year of reductions. Levels of several pollutants dropped by as much as fifty percent.
Under the Port’s Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), the Port has introduced a range of measures designed to reduce environmental impact. These include its Clean Trucks Program, the Green Flag vessel speed reduction initiative and the adoption of shore to ship power.
Cavotec is involved in one element of these programmes at Long Beach, and indeed at the nearby Port of Los Angeles (see image above): providing shore to ship power systems or Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) that allow moored vessels to switch off their engines and connect to the local electricity grid. Ships require power while docked to run substantial on board services from lighting, telecoms and food preparation, to mooring and cargo handling.
While making ports more sustainable is a continual process, it is encouraging to see what is possible with the application of technologies and practices designed to reduce environmental impact.
Hanging around an airport, waiting for a flight is perhaps not everyone’s idea of a good time, but thanks to some imaginative thinking at Singapore Changi Airport, travelers, and indeed members of the general public, can now get some genuine excitement from a mundane wait, with a ride down a four-storey high slide at speeds of up to six metres per second.
The Slide@T3 is the world’s tallest – and presumably only – slide of its kind in an airport. For every S$30 you spend at Changi on a single purchase, you redeem two tokens to ride the 12 metre slide in the Terminal 3 arrivals hall. How do you equip an airport with a slide? Have a look at Changi’s brief film below that shows how it was done:
The airport has also installed a second, shorter slide (one-and-a-half storeys) to give those concerned that they might experience turbulence before they fly on the main slide, a mini-taste of that sliding feeling.
At Cavotec, we are rather keen on fresh approaches and ingenious ideas – and we think the Slide@T3 is lovely.
With a new port equipment order, we will supply high-voltage cable reel units and associated control reels to Chinese engineering groupDalian Huarui Heavy Industry, as part of an extension project at the Caofeidian Island Coal Terminal, located on China’s east coast.
We will manufacture seven high-voltage (HV) cable reels and seven control cable reels for use on six reclaimers with an operational capacity of 6,500 tonnes per hour, and one stacker with the same capacity.
Built entirely on reclaimed land, Caofeidian Island is located in China’s Hebei province, some 210 kilometres (130 miles) south east of Beijing. The State Development and Investment Corporation Caofeidian Port Co. Ltd. oversees and manages the extension project.
The coal terminal’s extension will see a total investment of RMB 5.43 billion (EUR 670 million, USD 800 million), and is set to increase handling capacity to around 100 million tonnes per year.
While many aircraft manufacturers are using lighter weight materials in a bid to reduce fuel consumption, and thus emissions, engine designer Pratt & Whitney, has developed a jet engine that they say cuts fuel use by up to 15 percent.
The Pure Power PW1000G differs from many current aircraft engines, by having an enlarged fan that generates more thrust, thus reducing fuel consumption and cutting CO2 and NOx emissions. Furthermore, the designers say that the engine also reduces noise pollution.
A cross-section of the PW1000G. Photo credit: Pratt & Whitney
There are currently some 400 PW1000Gs on order, primarily for use on regional aircraft, with the first units scheduled to enter service in 2013. Analysis of test data recorded on trials with larger aircraft is ongoing.
We’re excited to see such advances for aircraft in the air, just as Cavotec continues to develop its technologies for aircraft on the ground; one of which, our PCAir system, allows parked aircraft to switch off their engines altogether – even PW1000Gs.
For regular updates on the PW1000G, check out its twitter page. And if you didn’t already know, Cavotec also tweets on a regular basis.
Cavotec develops advanced solutions for ports around the world
Cavotec is exhibiting at the Terminal Operations Conference & Exhibition (TOC), Europe, being held in Valencia, Spain, between June 8 and 10, 2010. A uniquely diverse and comprehensive event, TOC gathers participants from across the ports industry, including ports, shippers, terminals and finance.
Some 120 exhibitors are attending, providing input on how to make ports safer and more sustainable. Seminars in this year’s TOC Europe encompass subjects such as global economics, developing effective business models for terminals, and the increased use of automation in port handling operations.
We will be exhibiting at stand C36, with details of all our systems and services designed to help make port operations more efficient. Here’s to another successful and productive TOC.
Over at Treehugger we caught an interesting piece, called “What’s really wrong with our oceans” that was inspired by the Plastiki.
Written by the UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Achim Steiner, the piece opens with the observation that, “the epic voyage of Plastiki is bringing into sharp focus the inordinate environmental and economic impact humanity is having on the oceans and seas. While the focus is solid waste, and especially plastic marine litter, the expedition also underlines the myriad of other, sometimes invisible, factors that are accelerating the degradation and decline of fisheries to coastal ecosystems.”
It’s not an idle complaint, but a call to action. Steiner also calls for “governments…to look at science as an ally rather than as a provocation. Industry should view science-based recommendations and conservation-led measures not as a restriction but as an opportunity to re-tune their operations, boost competitive practices and a path towards guaranteeing profitability over short term gains.” We like to think Cavotec has been doing just that with innovations such as MoorMaster and AMP, and hope to continue to do more.
