Port of LA: why data collaboration and cyber security drive competitiveness

Trade volumes are normalising after the pandemic and the cruise sector is rebounding strongly, says The Port of Los Angeles’ executive director, Gene Seroka.

He projects volumes will be down 13% this year to around 8.6M container units – a significant improvement on early 2022 when volumes were down 31% year-on-year, and well ahead of overall import volumes to the US, which remain depressed. Balancing this muted recovery, the cruise industry has come "roaring back", and the port has welcomed more than 1M passengers over the past 12 months.

To drive efficiency and remain competitive, Mr Seroka says establishing trusted data-sharing frameworks with supply chain partners is critical. “People are still reluctant to share their data. Confidence can only be built through stringent cyber-security protections.” To this end, the Port has invested heavily in cyber security and is thwarting 60M intrusion attempts per month at its Cyber Security Operations Center, a public-private partnership established in 2014.

The commitment to sharing data also manifests in Port Optimizer, an advanced digital platform that Mr Seroka refers to as "the United States’ first and only port community system”. He says Port Optimizer is now capturing data on "95% of all imports that come into the Port of Los Angeles and 70% into the San Pedro Bay". This data is being shared and driving efficiencies among all of the port’s stakeholders.

Collaboration also extends to sharing information and best practices with other ports and this is something he will champion in his upcoming role as vice president for North America for the International Association of Ports and Harbours. Potential areas of collaboration include workforce training, with the Port looking to develop a dedicated training centre focused on supply chain careers. "California Governor Gavin Newsom has earmarked US$110M toward the initial investment of US$150M for this property."

He also intends to leverage his role within IAPH to accelerate collaboration on decarbonisation. The Port of Los Angeles has been implementing the IAPH Environmental Ship Index (ESI) scheme for nearly 10 years. “I’m a firm believer that being transparent and publishing results, both good and bad, are hallmarks that will drive progress on sustainability.”

The ESI is a voluntary web-based system that evaluates the environmental performance of seagoing ships based on their emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide and greenhouse gas. The ESI provides a score from 0 to 100 for each registered ship, with higher scores indicating better performance. The ESI also allows ports and other incentive providers to reward ships that demonstrate clear improvements in emissions performance beyond the current standards of IMO. As of October 2023, there were more than 6,700 cargo and passenger ships registered on the ESI scheme, together with 60 incentive providers around the world.

The Port is pursuing other wide-ranging sustainability initiatives, including commitments to reach zero emissions by 2030 for cargo handling equipment. Mr Seroka says the Port has engaged positively with equipment manufacturers to test zero-emissions technology, considering the Port a "test lab."

"We started on this work back in 2006, when the ports of Long Beach in Los Angeles implemented the world’s first clean air action plan."

To spur adoption of zero-emissions vessels, the Port of Los Angeles has signed co-operative agreements with major ports globally including Shanghai, Singapore, and most recently, Guangzhou Port Authority to establish Green Shipping Corridors and Mr Seroka is signing further agreements. Collaborating with other ports to validate zero-emissions technologies is "a giant step forward into the decarbonisation of the liner shipping and vessel communities."

While Mr Seroka wants to catalyse decarbonisation, he wants to see moderated regulatory approaches taken when mandating sustainability technologies. “We must stop mandating technologies before they reach adequate maturity and commercial viability,” he says. He favours applying a 1-9 technology level readiness (TRL) scale to assessing the maturity of new technologies, where 1 denotes basic principles are observed and 9 equals total deployment in an operational environment.

In his view, TRL 7 represents a technology readiness level where regulations could be effectively implemented without negatively impacting competitiveness. “At TRL 7, system prototyping would be complete, and the technology validated in an operational environment.”