Port of LA signs deal for Green Shipping Corridor with China’s Port of Guangzhou
The Port of Los Angeles has signed with another port in China — the Port of Guangzhou — in efforts to establish a Trans-Pacific Green Shipping Corridor.
The corridor has been in the works since January 2022 and is part of a voluntary partnership to find ways to cut greenhouse gas pollution from cargo ships, which do not fall under the environmental programs being pursued by the ports of LA and Long Beach.
Officials from both the ports of Los Angeles and Guangzhou signed an agreement to further their relationship and cooperation toward those goals.
Areas of collaboration include developing digital supply chain infrastructure, creating a green corridor between the two ports, and other initiatives to reduce port-related emissions and greenhouse gases.
“We are grateful to the Port of Guangzhou for their commitment to work with us on these important maritime initiatives,” Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka said. “The agreement signed today further reinforces our long-term relationship and like-minded pursuit of excellence in all aspects of port operations and signifies an important step toward decarbonizing the supply chain.”
Xiuqing Sun, director general of the Guangzhou Port Authority, said the agreement is part of a valued relationship with the Port of Los Angeles — one built on cooperation.
“By continuing to share best practices and information,” he said in a Tuesday, Oct. 24, statement, “our ports will be better positioned to improve operational efficiencies and reduce harmful emissions related to those operations.”
The two ports have a relationship that goes back nearly four decades, according to the Port of L.A., when a “Friendship Port” agreement was signed between the two in 1984.
The new three-year agreement calls for consultations on supply chain efficiency and digital technology, and sharing what is learned from the Port Optimizer, the digital community system developed by the Port of L.A. that’s been in use since 2017.
The Green Shipping Corridor is an initiative that will focus on reducing emissions in the trade route, promoting low- and zero-carbon ships and fuels.
The Port of Los Angeles has already established corridor partnerships with the ports of Singapore and Shanghai, and the Japanese ports of Nagoya, Yokohama and Tokyo.
Other initiatives in the agreement included cooperation in testing and deploying zero-emission vehicles, cargo handling equipment and vessels, as well exploring energy use and alternative energy sources.