CARB – Mandatory 'At Berth' regulations from 1 January 2023

The club previously published news regarding the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) new requirements back in September 2020 to control emissions whilst ships are ‘at berth’ in some Californian ports.

The ‘at berth’...

The club previously published news regarding the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) new requirements back in September 2020 to control emissions whilst ships are ‘at berth’ in some Californian ports.

The ‘at berth’ regulations were first introduced in 2007 and required for a percentage of vessels to utilize shore power whilst in port, based on the type of vessel and the frequency of port calls.

The regulations were amended in 2020 and were expanded to include more vessel categories and terminals which came into effect on 1 January 2023.

The regulation applies to Vessel operators, terminal operators, ports, and third-party CARB-Approved Emissions Control Strategy (CAECS) operators.

Under the new regulations, emission reduction and reporting requirements have become stricter and the CARB now requires vessels to meet emission reduction and reporting requirements at California marine terminals by a specific deadline per below:

Compliance Start Date	Vessel Type
January 1, 2023	Container and refrigerated cargo vessels
January 1, 2023	Cruise (passenger) vessels
January 1, 2025	Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) vessels
January 1, 2025	Tanker vessels that visit the Ports of Los Angeles or Long Beach
January 1, 2027	All remaining tanker vessels

The new regulations now apply to terminals in the ports as per the below image:

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has developed a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document specific to the new At Berth Regulation (“2020 Regulation”), which appears in sections 93130 through 93130.22 of Title 17, California Code of Regulations and is available for download at the bottom of the page along with the full regulation.

Categories: Loss Prevention, Pollution, Sustainability