Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) today announced that the company has earned recognition from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, California, for its efforts to ensure compliance with standards that call for vessels to slow down within 40 nautical miles (nm) of the shore.
The Port of Long Beach introduced the Green Flag Program and Port of Los Angeles the Vessel Speed Reduction Program. The programs urge vessel operators to slow down to 12 knots or less within a certain range of the ports to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and sulfur oxide (SOx) in coastal areas to conserve coastal environment, and offer annual rewards to vessel operators that achieve extraordinary compliance percentages.
Every year, a total of 250 MOL Group-operated vessels including containerships calling at MOL’s TRAPAC container terminal, as well as car carriers, tankers and bulkers, navigate through the area covered by the speed standards.
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