The Pier 400, Berth 408 Project will be built on the west side of the existing Pier 400 to stringent environmental and safety performance standards. The marine facilities will include an unloading platform, adjacent breasting dolphins, fendering systems, mooring dolphins, trestles connecting the offshore structures to the shore and catwalks connecting the mooring and breasting dolphins, a vessel access gangway tower, AMP (Alternative Marine Power) platform and other dock structures. Other associated equipment will include the mooring system, cranes, fire protection systems, spill prevention and containment equipment, and product piping systems.

The marine structures will be designed to withstand ship berthing loads (the loaded ship bumping the dock and the mooring lines pulling on the dock and mooring dolphins), wave loads, passing vessel loads and wind loads, all in accordance with the State of California’s new Marine Oil Terminal Engineering & Maintenance Standards (MOTEMS). The structure is also designed to withstand earthquakes. The structures will be supported on steel piles which will implement a corrosion protection system. The artist rendering (top image) shows a tanker docked at the proposed Berth 408 facilities.

Marine Terminal Layout

The figure above shows the proposed marine berthing structure. Four fenders are mounted on four breasting dolphins which form the fender line, with which the moored ship will be in contact. The fender line is approximately 280 feet from the shore line. The unloading platform is the larger rectangle in the middle that is inside the fender line so the ship won’t actually touch it. The six smaller squares are mooring dolphins which support mooring hooks. The mooring hooks hold the mooring lines that secure the ship in place at the berth. The various size ships will use the appropriate mooring dolphins to maintain the correct mooring line geometry.

The unloading platform supports the unloading arms, pumps and the operator’s shed. The north trestle (shown on the left) connects the unloading platform to the shore and includes a roadway and the oil pipelines. The south trestle connects Breasting Dolphin # 4 to the shore and includes a roadway and utility lines. Breasting Dolphin # 4 supports the gangway tower and connects the AMP platform to the south trestle.

The AMP platform supports track for the AMP equipment. equipment mounted on it The AMP system will allow ships that are capable of using the shore provided power to reduce emissions by replacing power to some of the ship’s systems usually powered by the ship’s own generators.

Design Basis Tankers

The four general classes (Refer to Classes and Characteristics of Tankers) of tankers have been used to design the mooring system of the marine terminal. The figure below shows the silhouettes of the tankers moored at the berth.

“State-of-the-Art” Marine Terminal Safety Features

It is the intent of Pacific L. A. Marine Terminal LLC to design this terminal as a state-of-the art facility incorporating all appropriate technology enhancements such as:

• Mooring load monitoring equipment which senses the strain on the lines securing the ship and warns the terminal operators in advance of any impending problems.
• Quick release hooks, which allow for the safe and timely release of the vessels mooring lines as the ship disembarks.
• Laser-assisted Berthing Aid System to facilitate a “soft landing” when the ship arrives at the berth.
• Two-stage alarm system to alert the operator to stop pumping when the unloading arms or gangway nears the limits of their reach, or when the mooring line loads near the limits of their capacity.
• Emergency Shutdown and Emergency Power System
• Real-time environmental monitoring of wind, current, waves, and seismic conditions.

Fire Protection
The fire protection system for the marine terminal is one of the most critical areas of design.

MOTEMS will be considered the primary governing standard for this facility. Per section 3108F.2 of MOTEMS, a Fire Hazard Assessment and Risk Analysis will be conducted. The total required firewater flow rate for this facility is between 6,000 gallons per minute (gpm) and 9,000 gpm per City of Los Angeles fire code and NFPA. The Fire Chief may impose additional requirements based on the size and layout of the terminal. A 24-inch fire main will supply fire hydrants spaced at 300 feet maximum along the access roadway. The unloading platform and breasting dolphins will have a total of four 1,500 gpm foam remote control fire monitors.