Clean air technology in operation

The technology is a first-generation application of the Maritime Exhaust Treatment System (METS-1) built by Clean Air Engineering-Maritime (CAEM) based in San Pedro, California. It was developed and tested at POLA, where the world’s first container ship equipped to run on shore power plugged in for the first time more than a decade ago.

T.L. Garrett, Vice President of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents the majority of shipping lines and terminal operators doing business on the West Coast, said that the importance of alternatives to shore power cannot be overstated.

“It is a giant step toward advancing a larger menu of commercially viable clean air solutions for the global maritime industry. These systems expand the universe of vessels that can be treated beyond those subject to regulation. As mobile solutions, they also can be deployed at ports around the globe,” he said.

In June, METS-1 became the first technology approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as an alternative to plugging into shore-based electricity for complying with requirements to reduce emissions from ships calling at the state’s major ports.

Unlike shore power, METS-1 is a mobile system mounted on a barge. It has an emissions control unit that connects to the ship’s auxiliary generator through the smokestack. Positioned alongside a ship, METS-1 uses a crane to lower a flexible duct to the exhaust outlet of the auxiliary generator needed to power the onboard systems. Once the capture device is securely connected, the emissions control system engages to vacuum the exhaust.

Additionally, METS-1 captures boiler emissions, which shore power does not. The system also has an add-on module that captures SOx emissions.

Currently, there is only one METS-1 unit in operation functioning primarily at LA’s TraPac Container Terminal where it was successfully demonstrated over a two-year period. CAEM is proceeding with plans to build more units.

CARB approved METS-1 for use on container ships after tests showed the system successfully captured and treated more than 90% of diesel particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from ships at berth. The results exceed the state’s minimum requirement for shore power alternatives to reduce PM and NOx emissions by 81%.