| Port, ITS and "K" Line Commit to ‘Green
Policy’ |
| Ceremony Affirms Combined Effort for Trade and
Environmental Leadership |
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| July 31, 2006 |
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| TOKYO, Japan -- Representatives of the Port of Long Beach,
shipping line Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" Line) and container terminal
operator International Transportation Service Inc. signed an agreement Monday, July 31,
reaffirming their commitment to work together to further international trade and
environmental stewardship. |
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| On Monday, a Port delegation led by Long Beach Harbor
Commission President James C. Hankla and Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard
Steinke met with "K" Line President and CEO Hiroyuki Maekawa and ITS President
Sho Ishitobi in a ceremony to celebrate a June 22, 2006, preferential assignment
agreement. |
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| The Port, "K" Line and ITS have enjoyed a
prosperous and successful working relationship for several decades. The Port-governing
Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners voted on May 22 to approve a historic "green"
lease agreement with ITS that will transform one of Long Beach’s largest container
terminals into the most environmentally friendly facility at the Port. "K" Line
is the parent company of ITS. |
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| "On behalf of the Port’s Board of Harbor
Commissioners, I salute ITS and "K" Line for joining us in this strong
partnership for environmental responsibility," Hankla said. "This historic
agreement is a model for how port terminals in the United States -- and throughout the
world -- will operate in an environmentally friendly way." |
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| "For "K" Line, protecting the environment is
one of our company’s most important responsibilities," Maekawa said. "We are
proud to commit ourselves to this innovative plan for a better environment jointly with
Port of Long Beach and ITS. This is one of our most ambitious environment protection
programs." |
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| "K" Line is one of the world’s leading ocean
carriers and one of the first shipping lines to adopt its own environmental protection
programs. "K" line has called at ITS’ Long Beach container cargo terminal
since 1986. ITS is one of Long Beach’s longest continuous tenants, having opened its
terminal in 1972. ITS was the maritime industry’s first terminal to introduce on-dock
double-stack train operations, revolutionizing Intermodal trade in the United States. |
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| "Our goal at ITS is to provide our customers with the
very best service," Ishitobi said. "We also have a responsibility to our
customers, employees, and the community to do our best to protect the environment. This
"Green Lease" helps us to fulfill our responsibility, and hopefully other
terminal operators and the marine industry around the world will do their part to improve
the environment." |
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| "One of the key reasons for our success at the Port of
Long Beach is our close relationship with our customers - some of the world’s greatest
companies, companies like "K" Line and ITS," Steinke said. "Their
cooperation in improving our environment has helped to make Long Beach one of the world’s
great ports." |
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( from left ) ITS
President Sho Ishitobi, "K" Line President and CEO Hiroyuki
Maekawa, Long Beach Harbor Commission President James C. Hankla and Port
of Long Beach Executive Director Richard Steinke |
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| Contact for Port of Long Beach: Art Wong, Assistant Director
of Communications/Public Information Officer, (562) 619-5665 (cell), or wong@polb.com. |
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| Contact for ITS: Michael Fogarty, Assistant Vice President
of Customer Service, (562) 590-6804, or Michael.Fogarty@itslb.com. |
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| Contact for "K" Line Tokyo: Masato Yamaguchi,
General Manager, IR & PR Group, Tel: 03-3595-5141, Fax: 03-3595-5001. |