Port of Long Beach Encouraging Megaships to Dock and Transfer Containers by Rail
Southern California’s Port of Long Beach, which saw container volumes drop off last year, has passed two measures that will encourage larger ships to dock at the port and give monetary incentives for shippers that transport their cargo containers in and out of the port by rail instead of truck.
All measures go into effect Aug. 1.
On July 2, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved a cap in dockage fees of $8,621 a day for ships longer than 1,152 feet. This covers the megaships that carry 13,000 20-foot containers or more.
Ships are charged dockage fees based on their length. Without the change, the large ships would pay more than $11,000 a day.
In addition, ships that qualify under the port’s “Green Ship Award Program” are eligible for a $6,000 incentive available for new vessels that pollute less.
The second measure passed by the board gives shippers a $10 incentive for every additional container (compared with the previous one-year period) that they move by rail through Long Beach from Aug. 1, 2012, to July 31, 2013.
Oftentimes, containers are transported by truck rather than rail to markets beyond Southern California.
The port is hoping to attract more business with these incentives after cargo-container volumes in 2011 declined 2 percent to 6 million containers. At its peak, the port saw 7.3 million cargo containers pass through the docks in 2007.
Also, in late 2010, the port lost a major shipper. California United Terminals, which is a subsidiary of Hyundai, moved over to the Port of Los Angeles. The shipper accounted for about 10 percent of Long Beach’s cargo volume.—Deborah Belgum
