Officials from the ports of Los Angeles and Nagoya, Japan, have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to broaden cooperation on key sustainability and operational efficiency initiatives, including port community systems and digital supply chain information sharing, zero-emission vehicle and equipment testing, and a new Green Shipping Corridor between the two ports.

Port of Los Angeles (Port of LA) announced that the new three-year agreement builds upon the 2020 MoU.

"Today marks another major milestone in the longstanding partnership between the ports of Los Angeles and Nagoya," said Gene Seroka, executive director at Port of Los Angeles.

"This agreement is a testament to the success that can be achieved when ports commit to work together, share ideas and advance mutual priorities," he added.

Yuji Kamata, executive vice president of the Nagoya Port Authority, noted that the agreement "paves the way to advance environmental sustainability and operational efficiencies at both of our ports."

"We look forward to further cooperation with the Port of Los Angeles so that both ports can further prosper as we move toward a new era of achieving carbon neutrality," Kamata said.

The new three-year MoU involves sharing best practices and exchanging information on issues of operational efficiencies, such as the development, deployment and promotion of port community systems for end-to-end supply chain information sharing.

These include the Port Optimizer™, which has been in use at the Port of Los Angeles since 2017 and has helped revolutionize the Port's ability to plan, forecast and track cargo on a real-time basis.

Under the new agreement, both ports also agreed to continue collaborating on the development and testing of zero-emission vehicles and equipment; environmental initiatives focused on terminal operations, ships in port and drayage trucks; and on energy use and alternative energy sources.

New Green Shipping Corridor

Port of Los Angeles added that central to sustainability efforts in the agreement will be the establishment of a new Green Shipping Corridor in the coming years, guided by a port decarbonization plan.

This endeavour will focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from cargo movement between Nagoya and Los Angeles and encourage the use and promotion of low and zero-carbon ships and fuels.

Aside from the Port of Nagoya, the Port of Los Angeles has already earlier signed a Green Shipping Corridor with the Port of Tokyo, the Port of Yokohama, the Port of Shanghai, and the Port of Singapore.