The Port of Los Angeles is planning a major shift to natural gas, electric vehicles and alternative fuels to reduce diesel emissions from the port. (Earlier post.)

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners authorized the acceptance of a grant on behalf of the Port of Los Angeles from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) that provides $185,000 for a program facilitating the exchange of ideas on air quality technology between the ports of Los Angeles and Shanghai. Part of the funding will be used for the Far East trip.

The Port of Los Angeles will assist the Port of Shanghai in establishing an advisory group, which will be modeled after the California Air Resources Board’s Maritime Working Group. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency holds a cooperative agreement in environmental protection with China’s State Environmental Protection Administration.

On September 2, 2005, the ports of Los Angeles and Shanghai entered into a draft friendship port agreement and signed a letter of intent to collaborate on air quality issues. The Port of Los Angeles also has an established sister port agreement with the Port of Keelung, Taiwan and international offices in both China and Taiwan.

According to Container Management’s World Port Rankings for 2004, the Port of Shanghai ranked as the third busiest port in the world, with an annual container throughput of 14.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units)—a standardized maritime industry measurement used when counting cargo containers of varying lengths. The Port of Los Angeles ranked number one in the U.S. and eighth in the world, with 7.4 million TEUs.