Giant black pipes will be inserted into the funnels of tankers calling at Shell’s Mormon Island Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles from next year.
STAX Engineering, a pioneer in maritime emissions capture and control, has entered into a five-year agreement with Shell, coinciding with new California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions regulations for tanker vessels kicking in from the start of next year.
STAX’s emission capture and control solution offers an alternative to shore power for emissions reduction for tankers. Emissions capture and control technology uses steel pipes and hoses to connect a barge, or a land-based exhaust-gas treatment system to a vessel’s funnel, allowing exhaust gases to be captured without venting into the air. This technology makes capturing and controlling exhaust gases possible without installing additional equipment on the vessel.
In 2014, CARB mandated that containerships, passenger ships, and other vessels calling at California ports reduce their emissions of nitrogen oxides, reactive gases, carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and diesel particulate matter while at berth. CARB is adding car carriers and tankers to this regulation in 2025, something that has seen car carrier owners Nippon Yusen Kaisha (pictured) and Hyundai Glovis also contract with STAX this year.
STAX claims it can remove 99% of particulate matter (PM) and 95% of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from all exhaust funnelled into its system before the exhaust is released as purified gas. To date, STAX has treated at-berth vessels for a cumulative of 4,800 hours and 37 tons of pollutants controlled.
