STAX Engineering Enters Five-Year Exclusive Agreement with TransMontaigne for Tanker Emissions Capture and Control in Northern California
Agreement helps advance tanker compliance ahead of CARB’s Jan. 1, 2027 Northern California at-berth deadline
LONG BEACH, Calif., April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STAX Engineering, a pioneer in maritime emissions capture and control, has entered into an exclusive service agreement with TransMontaigne Partners LLC (“TransMontaigne”), a leading midstream energy company with terminal operations across the United States. Under the agreement, STAX will service vessels calling at TransMontaigne’s Martinez and Richmond facilities, ensuring compliance with the Jan. 1, 2027 deadline for tanker vessels under the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) At-Berth Regulation.
Through this partnership, STAX is expected to provide 4,000 service hours annually for vessels calling on the TransMontaigne terminals. With nearly 6 million barrels of storage capacity at its Martinez and Richmond terminals, TransMontaigne plays a critical role in Northern California’s fuel supply chain, providing terminaling, storage, and distribution services for owners of refined petroleum and renewable fuel products.
Since launching in 2024, STAX’s signature green barges have become a familiar presence across California ports, capturing emissions from vessels at berth. Today, STAX is the leading provider in the state, with the largest fleet in the industry and the highest service hours among all providers. Through its broader Northern California operations, STAX expects to reduce emissions each year by 670 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 31 tons of reactive organic gases (ROG), and 31 tons of particulate matter (PM), helping tanker operators meet regulatory requirements while improving air quality in nearby communities.
STAX already services tankers in Southern California for partners such as Olympus, Shell, and MOL Chemical, giving operators a proven solution for at-berth compliance. As regulations for tankers expand statewide, terminal and vessel operators face growing pressure to implement emissions solutions that can be deployed safely and on time. STAX offers an immediate, cost-effective path to compliance—at a cost of less than 1 cent per gallon of gasoline—without requiring vessel retrofits or costly infrastructure upgrades. Built for the unique safety and operational requirements of tankers, STAX’s mobile emissions capture and control system can reduce at-berth emissions by up to 99% while allowing normal cargo operations to continue uninterrupted.
“Tanker operators need an emissions reduction solution that works in the real world—one that is safe, fast to deploy, cost-effective, and capable of delivering immediate air-quality benefits,” said Mike Walker, Chief Executive Officer of STAX Engineering. “We’re already supporting tanker customers across Southern California, and this agreement with TransMontaigne shows that industry leaders are preparing now for the 2027 CARB deadline and choosing a proven, practical path that reduces emissions without disrupting terminal operations.”
For California ports and neighboring communities, this agreement represents another step toward reducing at-berth emissions in regions that have long faced disproportionate air-quality burdens, while preserving the operational reliability needed to keep critical fuel and bulk liquid supply chains moving.
As a California-grown company, STAX continues to expand a clean-air solution built to meet the realities of port operations today. The company’s deployment model supports a skilled workforce at the waterfront, while helping terminal and vessel operators meet evolving emissions requirements with minimal disruption. STAX currently operates the largest fleet of emissions capture barges with ambitious expansion plans across the state, country, and world.
About STAX Engineering
STAX's patented, flexible exhaust capture system is designed to fit all ships without modification, even in the most congested ports. Known as the ‘Original Green Clean Machine,’ the STAX system captures exhaust, funnels it through its filtration system, and removes 99% of particulate matter (PM) and 95% of nitrogen oxides (NOx) before being released as purified gas. To date, STAX has treated more than 2,400 vessels for 42,000+ hours, capturing over 330 tons of pollutants—and counting. Learn more at www.staxengineering.com.
About TransMontaigne
TransMontaigne Partners LLC is an integrated terminaling, storage, transportation and related services company based in Denver, Colorado with operations in the United States along the Gulf Coast, in the Midwest, in Houston and Brownsville, Texas, along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, in the Southeast, in the Pacific Northwest and along the West Coast. TransMontaigne provides integrated terminaling, storage, transportation and related services for customers engaged in the distribution and marketing of bulk liquids. TransMontaigne is controlled by its member, TLP Finance Holdings, LLC, which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of ArcLight Energy Partners Fund VI, L.P. News and additional information about TransMontaigne Partners LLC is available at: www.transmontaignepartners.com.
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LaunchSquad for STAX
stax@launchsquad.com
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