IAPH looks into Alternative Maritime Power (AMP)

IAPH considers important what is termed AMP or Cold Ironing as one of new and prominent measures to prevent air pollution in ports. At the Mid-term Board Meeting in Mumbai, India, April 2006, IAPH addressed the issue and concluded that the introduction of this method is still limited to a small number of ports in the world and, as such, the issue has to be studied and examined carefully in the absolute absence of international standards defining and regulating this method of shore-supplied electricity and the equipment to be used.

It was in this context that IAPH was represented at a meeting organized in September 2006 in Washington D.C., U.S.A. by the International Standardization Organisation (ISO) to develop the scope and course of action for standardization of on-shore power supply connections for ships.

The issue of AMP will again be discussed at the forthcoming IAPH Exco Meeting, Shizuoka, Japan, October 2006, as it is certainly one of international issues that IAPH considers important.

In brief, "Cold Ironing" or "Alternative Maritime Power" was introduced to Bulker in Pittsburg California, USA in 1991 and for ferry in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2000. Introduced to cruise vessels at Juneaue, Alaska in 2001, the method was applied to container vessels at Port of Los Angeles in 2004.

IMO agreed in its MEPC 54th session( March 20-24, 2006) that standardization of shore-to-ship power connection are beneficial for the industry and further studies are needed. Based on the relevent information provided from IAPH, ISO has established a working group under its Technical Committee 8 (TC8) to study its standardization. As mentioned above, the first meeting was held in Washington D.C., September 14-15. Fer van de Laar, Managing Director of IAPH Europe Office was invited to the meeting representing IAPH.