Driving down emissions

In a blog post, Cavotec said that the problem of ship emissions in ports has intensified in the wake of the pandemic.

This is because “cruise ships that previously stayed in ports for a matter of hours or days, stayed at the same berths continually running their conventionally-powered engines, thereby increasing emissions of hazardous chemicals and particulate matter.”

Clean solution

One port where emissions has become an urgent issue, with large numbers of cruise ships berthing for extended periods, is the Port of Marseille, France’s largest port.

Recent reports suggest that maritime traffic had generated twice the amount of pollution there during lockdown than normal, with cruise ships in particular emitting almost six times more pollution in Marseille during lockdown than prior to the pandemic.

Shore power is part of the solution for Marseille. Under its Ship-to-Shore Power Supply (CENAQ) initiative, the port was the first port in France to provide shore power, for a ferry service connecting Marseille with the island of Corsica, in 2017.

Cavotec has worked closely with Marseille on their shore power journey providing onboard junction boxes for La Meridionale vessels cruising between mainland France and Corsica and developing a radio remote control system that enables ships’ crews to connect ships to electrical power easily.

The cleantech expert has also supplied four PowerReach systems, for La Meridionale and Corsica Linea berths. PowerReach meets all relevant international Shore Connection standards and features a customised height and arm length to reach electrical connection points of the different vessels.

Cavotec is a leading cleantech company that designs and delivers connection and electrification solutions to enable the decarbonization of ports and industrial applications worldwide.