Port of Hamburg starts offering shore power to container ships

The German port of Hamburg has started offering shore power connectivity to container ships at Container Terminal Hamburg (CTH).

PHOTO: CMA CGM's container ship Vasco de Gama connected to shore power in the Port of Hamburg. Hamburg Port Authority

Shore power or “cold ironing” is an electrical power supply provided to ships when they are docked at ports. Instead of running the engines onboard to power essential systems while docked at ports, shore power facilities allow ships to connect to the local electrical grid.

Prior to the launch of this service, multiple tests were conducted with ships in the port. In October last year, COSCO container ship, COSCO Taurus, successfully trialled shore power at the Port of Hamburg.

Recently, CMA CGM’s container ship, Vasco de Gama, became the first ship to be regularly supplied with shore power at CTH.

The facility at CTH, is set to deliver shore-side power to the terminal's three berths, featuring connections capable of offering 7.5 Mega Volt Amp (MVA) each. Renewable energy from the public grid, provided by energy supplier HEnW, will be utilised to supply power to the ships at CTH.

The German government covered 50% of the project’s expenses through the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.

The port authority plans to expand the shore power facilities to other terminals, such as Container Terminal Burchardkai and Container Terminal Altenwerder over the next few months.

“Hamburg is the first port in Europe to offer shore power for cruise and container ships. From 2025, all large cruise and container terminals in the Port of Hamburg will have shore power connections,” Hamburg’s First Mayor Dr Peter Tschentscher said.

By Tuhin Roy

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