New Emissions Barges Readied to Help California Ports Meet New Rules
Two new emissions filter barges developed by a company called STAX are preparing to enter service. One of the barges will be deployed in an expansion of the service at the Port of Benicia while the other barge will be the first dedicated to tankers at the Port of Los Angeles.
The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) new regulations that go into effect in 2025 extend the requirements to reduce emissions for on-berth vessels. The rules phase in an expansion to cover more containerships, tankers, and car carriers. Shore power is one alternative while STAX offers a service where a barge is positioned alongside and a cap placed over the funnel to capture exhaust and filter it through the technology on the barge. STAX has been recognized as a grantee of CARB.
The company announced in April 2024 an exclusive agreement with AMPORTS, an automotive ports logistics and processing solutions provider. It was the fourth such agreement in just eight weeks and called for STAX to provide a new barge, its fourth, that will be deployed under an exclusive service agreement with AMPORTS. NYK has announced a partnership with STAX to service its auto carriers at the Port of Benicia.
Fifth barge completing outfitting before its 2025 introduction (STAX)
STAX reports its fourth barge is now complete and will soon be heading to the Port of Benecia. The port is a critical point of entry for vessels from Asia., Europe, and Mexico. At the port, AMPORTS handles roughly 260,000 imported vehicles annually. That equates to approximately 20 percent of the vehicles imported by sea into California.
The company also reports that the finishing touches are placed on its fifth barge which will be deployed in 2025 to the Port of Los Angeles. STAX and Shell Oil Products (Equilon Enterprises) entered into a five-year agreement for STAX to service tankers calling at the Port of Los Angeles’ Shell Mormon Island Terminal.
The agreement anticipates that STAX will provide approximately 1,600 hours of emissions capture and control per year making it the first company to service tankers in California. It projects it will treat more than 150 tons of emissions over the lifetime of the partnership.
STAX highlights that it is providing services at the Ports of Benicia, Log Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland. The new CARB rules also target smaller commercial port vessels including tugs as they seek to show incremental improvements in emissions in and around California’s ports.