The PORT OF KIEL has inaugurated two shore power facilities at the Ostuferhafen. These facilities include a 50/60 Hz shore power facility for cruise ships and ferries, as well as a 50 Hz shore power facility for ferries. Funding for these facilities was evenly split between the Federal Government and the State of Schleswig-Holstein. During the opening ceremony, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister-President Daniel Günther presented a grant of more than 11 million euros to Dirk Claus, Managing Director at SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG, in the presence of Kiel’s Mayor Ulf Kämpfer. The commissioning of the shore power facility for cruise ships has already commenced, and integration tests with the cruise ship MSC Euribia are underway in preparation for regular supply.
“The construction of the two new shore power plants at the seaport shows: Our ports are moving forward. With each planned, funded and built plant, the seaport of Kiel is implementing its Blue Port strategy and moving further towards climate neutrality. With the almost 5.5 million euros each, the state and federal government are also investing in sensible solutions that make maritime transport more environmentally friendly and in a location factor in competition with other ports,” said Minister-President Daniel Günther.
Mayor Ulf Kämpfer is pleased that the PORT OF KIEL is continuing its stringent shore power strategy with the construction of the facilities at Ostuferhafen: “Since 2019, the seaport of Kiel has been continuously investing in the expansion of its shore power infrastructure. We now have one of the largest facilities in Europe. Kiel also wants to be a pioneer in sustainable maritime tourism and mobility in the future. Today is a true milestone in this endeavour.”
Dirk Claus, Managing Director at SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG, expressed his thanks to all the players. “For us, the shore power systems are another important step on our way to saving Co2 emissions in the port of Kiel. By 2030 at the latest, we want to supply all ships at our berths with green shore power. For the coming season, we plan to supply 40 cruise calls alone via the newly opened facility at Ostuferhafen, with a further 60 calls at Ostseekai.”
Over the next few years, Kiel will be the home port for MSC Cruises’ newest flagship, MSC Euribia. The energy-efficient cruise ship will be the first vessel to take shore power at the Ostufer-hafen. Christian Hein, Managing Director of MSC Cruises Germany said at the opening: “The shore-side power supply for our ships is an important element of our environmental efforts. By significantly reducing emissions in ports, we are living up to our environmental responsibility towards ports and destinations. Together with the use of LNG as fuel, the improvement of energy efficiency, the use of innovative wastewater treatment and waste recycling, we are taking an important step to further reduce our impact on the environment.”
Like the existing shore power facilities at Norwegenkai and Schweden-/Ostseekai, the new facilities at Ostuferhafen were built by SIEMENS AG. “I am pleased that the seaport of Kiel has relied on us as a strong partner in recent years. Kiel is one of the first ports in the world to offer comprehensive shore power at all cruise and ferry terminals. And all the shore power systems are from Siemens. I am proud that we can support the PORT OF KIEL with our solutions in implementing its sustainability strategy,” said Markus Mildner, CEO eMobility Siemens Smart Infrastructure.
PORT OF KIEL as a pioneer in shore power
The expansion of the shore power infrastructure is one of the priority projects of the Kiel seaport to reduce Co2 emissions as well as air/pollutant emissions of the ships during their berthing times. After the opening of the first shore power facility at Norwegenkai with a capacity of 4.5 MVA, 50 HZ, 10kV in 2019, the opening of a combined facility to supply cruise ships at Ostseekai (16 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11kV) and ferries at Schwedenkai (5 MVA, 50/60 HZ, 6.6/11kV) followed in 2021. This makes the PORT OF KIEL one of the pioneers among ports on an international scale. According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), only two percent of the world’s ports currently offer shore-side power supply for cruise ships. In the current year 2023, around half of the calls of ferry and cruise ships have already been supplied with shore-side power via the existing shore power facilities in Kiel. The company uses Scandinavian green electricity for the shore power supply of the seagoing vessels.
Shore power infrastructure at Ostuferhafen
The 17-million-euro construction project at Ostuferhafen includes two shore power facilities with capacities for the parallel supply of up to three seagoing vessels. The first of the two shore power plants is designed to supply one ferry and one cruise ship and connects four berths at Ostuferhafen to shore power. It has a capacity of 16 MVA and can supply cruise ships and ferries with a frequency of 50 or
60 Hz and a voltage of 6.6 kV or 11 kV. The second shore power system with a 50 Hz grid frequency is exclusively designed for RoRo ships and supplies two berths with a voltage of 6.6 kV or 11 kV up to a maximum power of 5 MVA. The construction project was realised with financial support from the federal government in accordance with Article 104b of the German Basic Law and from state funds in
accordance with § 44 of the Schleswig-Holstein state budget regulations under the directive for the granting of subsidies for the promotion of shore power facilities in commercial ports in Schleswig-
Holstein.
Source Port of Kiel