Big 'Green' freighter makes first stop at Los Angeles Port; ceremony greets world's largest alternative maritime power vessel.

THE world's largest alternative maritime power vessel--which can plug into shore-side electrical power while at berth--recently made its maiden voyage to the Port of Los Angeles, marking a step forward for the technology.

The port last week held a welcoming ceremony for the Xin Ya Zhou, the first in a series of five similar ships being constructed for China Shipping Container Lines Co. Ltd., a Shanghai, China-based shipping company and tenant at the port.

Alternative maritime power, sometimes referred to as "cold ironing," is a key element of the port's effort to reduce pollution from the complex, even as international trade continues to expand. Ships plugged into shore-side generators emit about one ton fewer nitrogen oxides for every day a ship is berthed.

So far the port has spent several million dollars to build berthside electrical infrastructure and plans to spend $50 million more as part of its $2 billion clean air plan.

The 1,096-foot, 101,000-ton Xin Ya Zhou can carry more than 8,500 cargo containers. The ship is a second-generation alternative power vessel, allowing it to hook up into shoreside power without conversion by a barge transformer.

The ship is scheduled to serve the ports of Oakland, Ningbo, Nansha, Yantian and Shanghai, in addition to Los Angeles. China Shipping Container Lines has about 20 older alternative power ships in its fleet.