The cruise industry wants to force its fleets to be equipped with shore power connections. "Already today, 35 percent of the global capacity of cruise ships are equipped with shore power connections," according to a statement by the industry association Clia Germany on Monday in Hamburg.
"Within the next five years it will be two thirds. More than 80 percent of all new buildings have shore power connections from the moment they go into service."
Shore power is considered an important component on the way to climate neutrality in shipping and for cleaner air at port locations. So far, many seagoing vessels have kept their engines running in port in order to supply themselves with electricity - with the corresponding exhaust gases and CO2 emissions. According to Clia, emissions in the port alone "can account for between 6 and 10 percent of a cruise ship's total CO2 emissions". According to earlier information from the Federal Ministry of Economics, large ships require outputs of between 4 and 16 megawatts, which roughly corresponds to the electricity requirements of smaller cities.
The industry complains that currently fewer than 20 ports worldwide still offer shore power for large cruise ships. In Germany these are currently Hamburg, Kiel and Rostock. However, only the German ports are not expanding their shore power capacities, emphasizes Clia. Large investments are also planned in other countries, for example in the Mediterranean region, in order to advance the expansion. "As part of the EU's Fit for 55 program, all major ports in the European Union must set up shore power supply by 2030," it said.
