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MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. has been forced to pay a penalty of $630,625 for violating California's Ocean-Going Vessel At-Berth Regulation.

The violations are said to have been discovered during a routine audit of the company's 2014 visits to the Port of Oakland and the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

An investigation by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) revealed more than 2,500 violations for both the Oakland and Los Angeles/Long Beach fleets for failing to reduce auxiliary engine power generation by at least 50 percent and for exceeding limits for auxiliary engine run time as required by the At-Berth Regulation.

The $630,625 fine works out at roughly around $250 per violation.

"Ocean-going vessels are significant contributors to air pollution," said the CARB Enforcement Division Chief Todd Sax.

"Even in port, their auxiliary engines generate toxic diesel particulate pollution that impacts not only port-adjacent communities, but also entire inland regions. This regulation helps to protect all Californians and is necessary to ensure we meet our clean air goals," Sax added.

The CARB noted that MSC cooperated with the investigation and subsequently converted its California fleets to include 100 percent shore power-equipped vessels.

The fine was paid to the California Air Pollution Control Fund (CAPCF) to support air pollution research, and the company agreed to comply with all requirements of the regulation.

No further violations of the At-Berth Regulation have been recorded, the CARB said.

2010 violation

Back in 2011, MSC was fined $53,000 by the CARB for failing to switch to low-sulphur fuel when sailing within 24 miles of the California coast, as required by state law.

On that occasion, the MSC Aniello was deemed to have used bunker fuel 'well within' the 24-mile limit from the coast prior to docking at the port of Long Beach in November 2010.

At-Berth Regulation

Adopted in 2007, the At-Berth Regulation was designed to reduce emissions from diesel auxiliary engines on container ships, passenger ships and refrigerated-cargo ships while berthing at a California port.

Vessel operators can either turn off auxiliary engines and connect to grid-based shore power, or use alternative technologies to achieve equivalent emission reductions while in port.

The regulation ultimately requires a fleet operator to reduce at-berth oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions from its vessels' auxiliary engines in port by at least 80 percent by 2020.