Maersk Line has partnered with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to measure the environmental benefits of a US$125 million upgrade to 12 containerships.

The two ports are contributing jointly US$1 million to a real-time tracking system to pinpoint vessel emissions while ships birthed and at sea.

Maersk said the three-year data collection and analysis will build on its multi-mullion “radical retrofit” program to reduce fuel consumption and increase the capacity of vessels that regularly call at the San Pedro Bay ports.

“This is the equivalent of strapping a Fitbit (activity tracker) on to a large container ship,” said Lee Kindberg, Maersk director of Environment and Sustainability. “We’ll be tracking vessel performance and emissions 24/7. This advances our ability to reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants on a global scale.”

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