Long Beach Adopts Incentives for Big Ships, Rail Containers

Two new incentives to encourage trade at the Port of Long Beach were approved July 2 by the Board of Harbor Commissioners. One is designed to encourage larger, cleaner ships to dock at the Port, and the other aimed at attracting more containers to come via rail through Long Beach. Under the programs, which launch Aug. 1, the largest ships calling at the Port will have their daily dockage fees capped, and ocean carriers who move additional containers via rail through Long Beach will get incentives. The port will cap daily dockage fees at $8,641 for ships longer than 345 meters (1,132 feet). Without the change, the largest vessels would pay more than $11,000 a day in dockage fees. Ships that qualify under the port's Green Ship Award Program may earn up to $6,000 more in incentives. Ocean carriers also will save on rail cargo costs under a program that will give them a $10 incentive for every additional container they move via rail through Long Beach between Aug. 1, 2012, and July 31, 2013, compared to the previous one-year period.