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The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has given preliminary approval to nearly $9 million in extra incentives to further boost participation in its Green Flag air quality program.

The Green Flag Program, which gives financial incentives to ship operators to slow down their vessels near the Port, will double to $6 million a year.

Currently, nearly all ships docking at the Port of Long Beach slow down within a 20-mile zone around the harbor. The added incentives are expected to encourage more ships to slow within 40 miles, further decreasing air pollution from the ships' diesel engines.

In 2009, the Green Flag Program helped reduce about 2,000 tons of pollution; the expanded incentives could reduce an additional 300 tons, according to the port.

Last month the port of Long Beach celebrated five years of its Green Port Policy since the program was launched at the end of January 2005.

In addition to the port's Green Flag program, other programs include:

* Shore power, which allows ships to shut down diesel engines and plug into clean electricity while at berth, is being installed. The Port’s first container berth with shore power opened in 2008, and the world’s first oil tanker berth with shore power was dedicated in 2009. By 2014, 50 percent of container ships will be required to plug in.

* The San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, adopted in 2006, set a goal of 45 percent air pollution by 2012. The plan addresses every machine that moves cargo in the Port, from cranes to ships to trucks. Using the latest available figures, the result so far is a 21 percent reduction in diesel pollution from 2005 to 2008.

The Green Port Policy is based on five guiding principles:

* Protect the community from harmful impacts of Port operations.

* Distinguish the Port as a leader in environmental stewardship.

* Promote sustainability.

* Employ best available technology.

* Engage and educate the community.

The Port of Long Beach is the nation’s second largest seaport and a recognized leader in the goods movement industry worldwide. More than $120 billion in trade – about 5 million TEUs – flowed through the port in 2009. The port plans about $2.6 billion in capital improvements in the next decade.