POLB Briefs: Gerald Desmond Bridge Demo; Second Busiest Month; Joins Green Shipping Corridor

Gerald Desmond Bridge Demolition to Begin in July

LONG BEACH — Demolition of the Gerald Desmond Bridge in the Port of Long Beach is scheduled to start in July with the removal of the section of the span suspended over the Back Channel, requiring a 48-hour closure of the channel to all watercraft traffic.

The Back Channel will be closed to vessels from 6 a.m. Saturday, July 9, to 6 a.m., Monday, July 11, as the bridge’s 410-foot-long suspended span is dismantled and lowered onto a barge. The Gerald Desmond Bridge has been closed to vehicle traffic since early October 2020 when its replacement opened. Vehicle traffic on the replacement bridge will not be affected by the demolition of the old span.

Removal of the suspended span is one of the first steps in demolishing the Desmond Bridge. Following the first weekend, further significant waterway impacts are not anticipated. Full demolition is expected to be concluded by the end of 2023.

Removal of the Desmond Bridge, rising 155 feet above the water, will allow large cargo vessels to more easily access the port’s inner harbor. The new bridge has a 205-foot clearance over the channel.

Metal, concrete and other materials from the old bridge will be recycled whenever possible.

Port of Long Beach Has Second-Busiest Month on Record

LONG BEACH — May was the second-busiest month on record for the Port of Long Beach, and its strongest month so far in 2022.

Dockworkers and terminal operators processed 890,989 twenty-foot equivalent units in May, a 1.8% decline from May 2021, which remains the port’s busiest month in its 111-year history.

Imports decreased 1.7% to 436,977 TEUs and exports were down 12.6% to 118,234 TEUs. Empty containers moved through the port increased 2.6% to 335,778 TEUs.

The port has withheld the start of a “Container Dwell Fee” that would charge ocean carriers for containers that remain too long on the docks. The San Pedro Bay ports – Long Beach and Los Angeles – have seen a 40% decline in aging cargo on the docks since the program was announced on Oct. 25.

The port has moved 4,172,366 TEUs during the first five months of 2022, a 3.5% increase from the same period in 2021.

Port of Long Beach Joins the Green Shipping Corridor

LONG BEACH — The Port of Long Beach has signed on to the Shanghai-Los Angeles Green Shipping Corridor, a partnership of C40 Cities, ports, shipping companies and cargo owners convened to create a zero-emissions trans-Pacific trade route.

First announced in January by C40 Cities, the ports of Shanghai and Los Angeles, and key maritime stakeholders, this Green Shipping Corridor will be a big step toward decarbonizing shipping between the busiest ports in China and the United States. C40 Cities is a network of the world’s leading cities that are working to deliver the urgent action needed to confront the climate crisis.

The partnership intends to achieve these goals by developing a “Green Shipping Corridor Implementation Plan” by the end of 2022.

Key decarbonization goals for the Green Shipping Corridor partnership include:

• The phasing in of low, ultra-low, and zero-carbon fueled ships through the 2020s with the world’s first zero-carbon trans-Pacific container ships introduced by 2030 by qualified and willing shipping lines.
  
• The development of best management practices to help reduce emissions and improve efficiency for all ships using this international trade corridor.
  
• Reducing supply chain emissions from port operations, and improving air quality in the ports of Shanghai, Los Angeles and Long Beach, and adjacent communities.

Details: www.polb.com/environment.