German Cruise Operator AIDA To Utilize Shoreside Power in Hamburg

The leading German cruise company AIDA Cruises is looking for the best solution for shoreside power supply for cruise ships together with the City of Hamburg.

We will provide all our know-how and will offer active support with the development and the application of especially environment-friendly power supply for cruise ships in ports, says AIDA President Michael Thamm.

The fleet of the Rostock based cruise company is already prepared for retrofitting with shoreside power supplies. For the environment-friendly supply with shoreside power it is imminent, that the power is generated more efficient and cleaner than with the top-modern facilities onboard the AIDA ships. AIDA Cruises offers experts from their company that will advise the City of Hamburg in all technical matters free of charge and to see the project through to operability. The port of Hamburg can become a role model for the development of the best shoreside power concepts in Europe, says Michael Thamm.

AIDA Cruises leads the way and plans the installation of dual fuel motors

Sustainability determines all daily operations of AIDA Cruises. As the German market leader in the cruise segment, we very much feel obliged to the sustainable protection of the environment, says Thamm. Although the eight AIDA ships already are the most modern and youngest worldwide, the ship engineers in Rostock were able to further reduce the energy consumption from year to year. Since 2007, the fuel consumption per guest and day could be reduced by 18.2 per cent.

The market leader intends to stay on top of future technical developments. AIDA is involved in research projects as the initiative from the German governmente4ships for the development of fuel cells on cruise ships.

In the next generation of ships, AIDA is planning to install dual fuel motors which can be operated with both marine diesel and liquid gas.

All environmental actions of the cruise company are documented in the annually published sustainability report AIDA cares, which can be downloaded from the internet at www.aida.de/nachhaltigkeit.

Rostock, 27th September 2011

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Princess Cruises Ship Uses Shore Power in San Francisco

(October 6, 2010) – Today Island Princess helped inaugurate the Port of San Francisco’s new shore power facility by “plugging in” to electric power from shore.

The new shore power technology at the Port of San Francisco cruise ship terminal enables Princess Cruises’ ships, and other equipped vessels, to use power from the city’s grid instead of the engines to power the ship’s onboard services--reducing emissions when docked in San Francisco.

The port becomes the fourth in the world where Princess Cruises’ ships can take advantage of this innovative technology. The new shore power installation in San Francisco is a cooperative effort by the Port of San Francisco, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Environmental Protection Agency, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises.

“We know that local air quality is an important issue in the Bay Area, so we’re pleased to join with the port to debut this important environmental initiative,” said Dean Brown, Princess Cruises’ executive vice president. “Our commitment to shore power technology began nearly 10 years ago, and we’re very pleased we can now ‘plug in’ our ships in San Francisco.”

Princess’ shore power program made history when it debuted in Juneau, Alaska in 2001. It expanded to Seattle in 2005, and then to Vancouver in 2009. Shore power connections are planned to roll out in other ports that have made commitments to the technology, including Los Angeles and San Diego. Currently nine of the line’s ships are outfitted with the capability to “plug in” to a shoreside power source, representing an investment for Princess of nearly $7 million in equipment alone.

To create this unique power system, also known as “cold ironing,” Princess has outfitted its ships with custom-built connection cabinets that join the ship’s electrical network to the local electric system ashore. The electric power is transmitted from a landside transformer to the vessel via four 3½-inch diameter flexible cables. The actual cable connection on a vessel is a traditional, though quite large, plug and socket. The length of time needed to connect a ship to shore power and shut down the vessel’s diesel generators is approximately 40 minutes. Once connected, the ship’s engines are powered down and, simultaneously, the necessary amount of power is delivered to run the ship’s services while in port.

The Princess ships currently equipped with shore power technology include:

* Coral Princess
* Dawn Princess
* Diamond Princess
* Golden Princess
* Island Princess
* Sapphire Princess
* Sea Princess
* Star Princess
* Sun Princess

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