Thank you very much for your kind introduction and warm welcome.
I’m pleased that this event marks the first time ever that the APEC Port Services Network has met in the United States, and that it coincides with the APEC meetings in San Francisco.
This is an exciting time for the maritime industry – here in America and across the world.
Last week’s discussions on energy efficiency and transportation set the stage for today’s workshop on green ports.
The need to create greener transportation options – and the role of marine transportation in that effort – is a cause that the United States and Pacific Rim economies share in common.
President Obama, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and all of us at the U.S. Maritime Administration are committed to further strengthening our relationship with partner economies around the Pacific and worldwide.
Many of the largest increases in energy-efficiency will come with improvements to the fleet of cars on the roads, by increasing gas mileage standards and introducing more hybrid cars, and maybe even high-speed rail enhancements.
But when we talk about greening our transportation systems, we must do so responsibly when it comes to maritime and ports.
Ports serve as global hubs for freight shipping, and their importance to trade and our economies cannot be understated.
I believe the APEC working groups will find that the global maritime industry has a lot to offer to improve sustainability.
Today I’d like to tell you a little bit about what we’re doing in the United States to make our ports, our waterways and our transportation system as a whole greener, more sustainable and more efficient.
Under the President and Transportation Secretary’s leadership, there’s a lot to talk about our ports.
And many of our efforts complement the work of America’s ports – particularly those located here on the West Coast.
Later today you will hear from Geraldine Knatz, the outstanding executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.
We’ll also hear from colleagues at the Ports of Oakland, California, and Seattle, Washington.
I’m sure they will all have a lot more details to share about their efforts, but let me get the conversation started.
The most important place to begin is to take a look at the growing demand at our ports.
Over the last 10 years containership capacity calling at U.S. ports increased by 60 percent.
For the same period, the average size of containerships calling increased by 40 percent.
The increase in vessel traffic is not surprising, when we realize that U.S. container trades have outpaced -- by a factor of 2 -- real economic growth for decades.
What’s even more encouraging, IHS/Global Insight expects this extraordinary growth to continue over the next 20 years.
Let’s also think about this in context of our projected population growth. Over the next forty years, the United States expects population growth of 100 million. That’s like adding another California, New York, Texas and Florida – combined.
America is not alone in this.
Asian economies – particularly China – are bracing for not only significant population growth, but also a continued swelling in the ranks of the middle class.
All of these people will need safe, efficient and sustainable ways to get around. It goes without saying that every new consumer depends on goods and supplies shipped around the world.
So making better use of our ports and waterways just makes sense.
Within our continents, the more freight we ship on water, the less we will rely on aging surface infrastructure and growing congestion for reliable deliveries.
And, we’ll produce fewer carbon emissions.
For example, one study by the Texas Transportation Institute concluded that moving freight by water generates less than one third of harmful emissions than the same freight by truck.
This can be a huge opportunity for the maritime industry – to create jobs and grow revenue and profitability – but only if we plan now for the long-term.
We need to ensure that as long-term investments are made in our infrastructure, every step along the chain is as green and efficient as possible.
And that’s exactly what we’re doing – all across America, but particularly here on the West Coast.
Two of the Nation’s largest ports—the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach –both have made great progress in reducing air pollution by taking aggressive measures.
They have set ambitious goals and taken the initiative to modernize equipment, take advantage of technological improvements in diesel engines and even explore hybrid technology for tugs.
Here in the Bay Area, the Port of Oakland has worked with ocean carriers to bring cold ironing, or shore side electrical power, to its terminals.
We are also working very closely with several ports to develop short sea shipping services to Oakland, which I will describe in more detail later.
To the north, the Port of Seattle welcomed the 800th vessel to use low-sulfur fuel while in port. Under an innovative program, the port provides an average incentive of $2,250 to use low sulfur fuel in vessels’ auxiliary engines for each call.
Since the port initiated the program in 2009, it estimates that nearly 500 metric tons of sulfur dioxide has been removed from the local environment.
I applaud the leadership shown by our west coast ports in driving sustainability.
At the national level, the U.S. Maritime Administration is taking a long-term view as well.
Our environmental efforts have focused on promoting carbon emission reductions, air pollution reductions, energy conservation and the use of alternative fuels.
And recently we have received more funding from Congress to grow these efforts.
Our agency has guided federal sustainability efforts by providing maritime expertise to those agencies—including the Environmental Protection Agency—looking for environmental improvements.
Along with our partners in industry and academia, we have undertaken several projects that focus on using alternative or renewable fuels to address vessel and port emissions reductions.
For example, we are working with EPA to demonstrate low sulfur diesel fuel switching in the Gulf of Mexico region.
We are testing on one of our vessels the latest generation of biofuels—an algae-based fuel. We are 6 months away from some very useful results.
And we are researching the feasibility of using natural gas as a main source of propulsion for vessels, as opposed to residual fuel—both in the Great Lakes and in smaller support craft.
While we often work directly with our ports and ocean carriers, the agency has also been focusing on how we can help shippers to find the greenest transportation methods.
In the next year we will be rolling out an internet mapping tool for freight routing which finds the most environmentally-friendly route between two points, accounting also for cost and time.
While we have shown dedication to finding environmental solutions for the maritime industry and working to green our ports, the call for innovation in this industry worldwide is very loud.
New operating practices, cleaner equipment and technology, and less polluting fuels will all have a role in helping green our ports and transform the way we ship.
But some of the most effective policies do not require a laboratory to test, like putting cargo on the water where it is possible instead of overland routes.
That’s why we’re excited about finally seeing progress on what we call America’s Marine Highways.
As I’ve said, it’s critical that we find ways to make better use of our waterways.
That’s exactly what the marine highways program does.
Just as we have designated federal surface highways that allow shippers and travelers to move about the country faster and more efficiently than traveling local roads, marine highways work in much the same way.
By identifying the waterways that have the potential to help move more freight by water throughout the country, we can make it more efficient, convenient and reliable for shippers to choose marine transportation.
Last year, Secretary LaHood formally designated 18 marine highway corridors all across the country.
Two of those routes – M-5 and M-580 – connect to our West Coast ports and parallel the Interstates I-5 and I-580.
Of particular note, M-580 connects the Port of Stockton with the Port of Oakland, which, as you know, is a principal gateway for U.S. agricultural exports to Asia.
Having reliable short-sea shipping services on these waterways is a tremendous opportunity.
It will help demonstrate that short-sea shipping in America can work, and altogether will add up to many improvements in our country’s mobility, environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, safety, and shipbuilding and defense capability.
The bottom line is this: we believe the future of global transportation isn’t a zero-sum game.
Addressing bottlenecks and smoothing out our regional distribution systems will have positive impacts to supply chains worldwide.
For our ports to grow and prosper, it’s in our interest to work closely with our partner economies throughout Asia.
We need to work together in common interest, exchanging technologies and best practices.
We’re eager for our trading partners to see our West Coast ports – and all of our ports – as the most efficient, convenient, sustainable and cost-effective options for freight transportation.
I’m certain that by working together and learning from each other, we will grow and prosper together – to create jobs and build a sustainable future for our children and grandchildren.
Thank you very much.