Sweden’s first and one of Europe’s first shore power supply facilities for cruise ships has passed an important milestone through test calls with ships in central Stockholm.
Over 35 cruise ships are expected to connect to shore power by October this year.
Ports of Stockholm is now entering the final phase of the innovative project to install two onshore power facilities for cruise ships at Stadsgården quays in Stockholm. German cruise company AIDA, which is Ports of Stockholm’s largest cruise customer, participated with the cruise ship AIDAdiva in the first test call, which took place on May 30.
“Onshore power for cruise ships is an important milestone for Stockholm as a sustainable premium destination, to achieve set climate goals and improve the environment in the city. We are extremely excited to enter the final completion of our facilities. We look forward to welcoming cruise ships that can benefit from this technology,” Jens Holm , Chair of the Board of Ports of Stockholm, commented.
The facilities have been under construction for the past two years and will reduce emissions from cruise ships in port and reduce noise from the engines. Connecting a ship to the electricity grid can turn off its diesel generators and use onshore power instead, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, air pollution and noise.
“As an onshore power pioneer in Europe AIDA Cruises has been committed to the development of sustainable infrastructure in Europe for many years. We are happy to work with Ports of Stockholm with our knowledge and ships in the commissioning process of Sweden’s first onshore power facility for cruise ships,” Marco Torkler , Director Technical Projects & Operational support at AIDA Cruises, said.
As informed, Ports of Stockholm has worked closely with several international partners to ensure that the facilities meet the highest standards in both safety and efficiency. The connection at berth S167 has been granted support from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Klimatklivet. The project has also – together with the three Baltic Sea ports at Copenhagen/Malmö, Aarhus and Helsinki – been awarded grants from the EU to invest in onshore power supply.
Once the project is completed, it will be possible to connect over 45% of cruise calls at Ports of Stockholm to electricity at the quay, according to the port authority.
The port authority’s environmental work is in line with the City of Stockholm’s goal to become climate-positive by 2030 and fossil-free by 2040.