The robust expansion of shore power infrastructure in Northern Europe has enabled German cruise line AIDA Cruises to connect its flagship AIDAsol to shore-side facilities in nearly all ports during a voyage.
Namely, during its voyage from April 16 to 21, 2023, AIDA’s flagship vessel, AIDAsol, became the first cruise ship in the fleet to connect to shore-side facilities in four out of five ports, including Rostock-Warnemünde, Aarhus (Denmark), Kristiansand (Norway), and Hamburg.
“AIDA shows what can already be possible today. Our goal is to be able to use shore power in all ports in the future where port infrastructure is available. With our investments in this clean technology, we are actively supporting the goals of the EU’s “Fit for 55″ program to build a corresponding infrastructure in all major EU ports by 2030, because we can only achieve the energy transition together,” says AIDA President Felix Eichhorn .
AIDAsol’s voyage started with a premiere in Rostock-Warnemünde last Sunday, April 16, 2023. During a double call, AIDAmar and AIDAsol were the first two cruise ships to be supplied simultaneously with green energy on the same day in a German port.
Another premiere followed just one day later: In Aarhus, Denmark, AIDAsol was the first cruise ship to conduct shore-side and shipboard integration tests on the newly built facility. The official opening of Denmark’s first shore power plant for cruise ships is scheduled for later this year.
Also during the voyage, AIDAsol was supplied with energy from shore during its stop in Kristiansand, Norway, as it was already in 2022.
On Friday morning, AIDAsol arrived in Hamburg, her home port for this year’s summer season. Shortly after docking at the Cruise Center Altona, the ship was connected to Europe’s first shore power plant for cruise ships and switched off its main engines.
AIDA Cruises signed a memorandum of understanding in April 2022 with Cruise Baltic, a network of 31 ports and destinations, to use shore power in the ports of the Baltic Sea region.
As a part of the Carnival Corporation & plc family of cruise brands, the company aspires to achieve carbon-neutral ship operation for its fleet by 2050. In addition to the use of shore power, the cruise giant is investing heavily in liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a bridging technology,