Shore power infrastructure lags regulatory push – DNV
Shore power infrastructure remains limited despite regulations in the EU, UK, China and California requiring or encouraging ships to connect to the grid while at berth, according to a new report from DNV.
IMAGE: Shore power connection for tankers in the Swedish Port of Gothenburg. Port of Gothenburg
DNV analysed vessel traffic at 5,600 ports globally, including 3,400 ports visited by vessels above 5,000 gross tonnage (GT). Just over one-third of these ports fall under the jurisdictions of the EU, China and California, where regulations either require or incentivise shore power use.
However, only 3% of global ports visited by vessels above 5,000 GT currently offer shore power facilities.
The figure rises to just 5% across the EU, China and California combined highlighting a gap between regulatory efforts to promote shore power and the availability of port-side infrastructure.
The EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) mandates that all major coastal and inland ports within the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) must offer onshore power supply (OPS) for container and passenger ships by the end of 2029. FuelEU Maritime will also require all ships over 5,000 GT to connect to shore power when docked at TEN-T ports from 2030.
China requires ships docking for more than three hours at coastal Chinese ports or more than two hours at inland river ports, to use shore power at berth. The rule applies to all vessels fitted with shore power systems at berths with shore power facilities, except tankers.
California's at-berth emissions regulations require ocean-going ships to use on-shore power supply (OPS) while at berth. The rules came into effect for container, cruise and refrigerated cargo vessels in 2023, and were extended in 2025 to tankers calling at Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as all ro-ro and vehicle carriers statewide.
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is set to extend to shipping from 1 July 2026, covering vessels of 5,000 GT and above. It applies to 100% of emissions generated while ships are at berth in UK ports, regardless of whether the voyage is domestic or international. While the scheme does not mandate shore power use, it could encourage uptake by penalising at-berth emissions.
But shore power infrastructure "remains insufficient to meet growing demand driven by upcoming regulations,” the DNV report noted.
Availability varies significantly by segment. Containerships and cruise ships have greater access to shore power infrastructure than bulk carriers and tankers, DNV said.
It identified shore power capabilities at 43 of 1,066 container ports, 41 of 1,113 cruise ports, 18 of 1,792 bulk carrier ports and only two of 1,853 tanker ports, according to the report.
Among the 40 global ports with the highest container ship emissions, 20 offer at least one shore power connection suitable for containerships. The figure falls to six among the 40 highest-emitting cruise ports, eight among the 40 highest-emitting bulk carrier ports and none among the 40 highest-emitting tanker ports, the report said.
Across the EU, China and California combined, DNV identified shore power availability at only 28 of 319 container ports, 25 of 386 cruise ports, eight of 496 bulk carrier ports and two of 543 tanker ports.
Infrastructure levels at EU TEN-T core ports also remains uneven.
Only eight of the 85 TEN-T container ports and 14 of the 115 TEN-T cruise ports currently offer shore power facilities. DNV found no shore power availability at any of the 101 TEN-T bulk carrier ports analysed, and only one tanker port among the 111 locations assessed.
Vessel readiness remains limited, although DNV noted that uptake has increased in recent years.
According to Clarksons Research data cited by DNV, only 4,136 vessels had shore power connections installed by April 2026, representing nearly 4% of the global fleet of around 116,000 ships.
The share of containership newbuilds fitted with shore power connections rose from 30% in 2022 to 63% in 2025. Among cruise ship newbuilds, the figure has remained between 40% and 50% over the same period.
“Tankers and bulk carriers face less regulatory pressure, but although their uptake of shore power remains low, their readiness for it is rising.”
By Konica Bhatt
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