Long Beach Opens Pier T Redevelopment Scoping as MSC-Backed Terminal Pushes Zero-Emission Rail and Capacity Expansion

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The Port of Long Beach has launched public scoping for a proposed redevelopment of Pier T, the port’s largest container terminal, operated by Total Terminals International (TTI), as the facility seeks to rehabilitate aging infrastructure, electrify cargo-handling operations, and expand on-dock rail capacity ahead of anticipated container volume growth.

The port announced on July 2, 2026, that it will host an in-person open house and scoping meeting, along with a separate virtual session, to gather input for a combined Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement. Comments will inform the environmental review of TTI’s plan to transition the terminal to zero-emissions technologies and boost rail utilization, moves the port says are designed to limit community and environmental impacts while accommodating rising throughput.

Pier T is not a minor facility. The 154-hectare terminal, with a 1,524-meter quay and 17-meter channel depth, currently handles up to 2.9 million TEU annually and can accommodate vessels of up to 19,000 TEU, with TTI’s own specifications noting capacity for 23,000-TEU ships. The terminal employs 16 ship-to-shore cranes and operates what TTI describes as one of the best on-dock rail facilities on the U.S. West Coast, with 12 working tracks and four storage tracks totaling nearly 90,000 feet of track length.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the terminal’s anchor customer, acquired a controlling interest in TTI in 2016 after the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping, which had previously held a 54 percent stake. The lease on Pier T runs through 2027, and the port has previously required MSC to raise crane heights and install new gantry infrastructure as conditions of the transfer.

The terminal accounts for roughly one quarter of the Port of Long Beach’s container traffic. Any operational disruption or capacity constraint at Pier T ripples through the San Pedro Bay complex, which together with the Port of Los Angeles handles nearly 40 percent of U.S. containerized imports.

The Pier T redevelopment arrives as California regulators tighten emissions rules for ports and the goods-movement sector. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has mandated zero-emission cargo-handling equipment transitions and advanced clean fleets requirements, while the port’s own Clean Air Action Plan targets zero-emission terminal operations by 2030.

The Port of Long Beach and neighboring Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) at Middle Harbor have already secured federal grant funding for zero-emission equipment conversions, including a $30.1 million Port Infrastructure Development Program award to replace diesel yard tractors with battery-electric units and install charging infrastructure. LBCT has reported an 86 percent reduction in equipment-related emissions per container since 2015 through electrification of ship-to-shore cranes, stacking cranes, and rail-mounted gantry cranes.

For TTI, the Pier T project represents a parallel effort to modernize a terminal that has not undergone the same wholesale redevelopment as LBCT’s Middle Harbor facility. The port’s announcement emphasizes that the project is one of several upcoming initiatives designed to boost sustainability and increase capacity while limiting impacts on surrounding communities, which include historically disadvantaged areas covered under California’s environmental justice frameworks.

Public comments gathered during the scoping process will shape the scope of the EIR/EIS, which must evaluate alternatives, mitigation measures, and cumulative impacts before any construction or equipment procurement can proceed. The Notice of Preparation is available at polb.com/ceqa.

Industry stakeholders, including ocean carriers, railroads, beneficial cargo owners, and labor unions, are expected to monitor the review closely. Any prolonged environmental review or community opposition could delay infrastructure upgrades that TTI and MSC may view as necessary to maintain competitiveness against modernized rivals such as LBCT, which has posted the fastest truck turn times and lowest anchorage rates in San Pedro Bay in recent years.

The port has not released a construction timeline or cost estimate for the Pier T redevelopment. Terminal operators, carriers, and investors will be watching for signals on whether the project can secure federal or state grant support similar to LBCT’s funding, and whether the electrification timeline aligns with CARB’s 2030 zero-emission target for terminal operations.