Port of Hamburg to expand pioneering role in onshore power supply for cruise liners and container ships

The City of Hamburg is aiming to supply an increasing number of ships with onshore power from renewable energies this year and has set up the required infrastructure in the port, a press release said. A new onshore power plant will go into operation at the Cruise Centre Steinwerder in 2024 and a plant in Altona will cover 40 more cruise ship calls doubling the figure for 2023. A total of 270 ship calls are expected this year in Hamburg, according to the company's release.

"We are sending a clear signal for more environmental protection by expanding the onshore power supply in the Port of Hamburg," said Dr Melanie Leonhard, Senator for Economics. The new onshore power plant in Steinwerder will supply renewable energy for 140 ships calling this year. More cruise ships will be supplied from a new onshore power plant in HafenCity from 2025. The senate is taking major steps towards greater sustainability with the shipping companies, she added. The supply of container ships will also be advanced this year. To this end, onshore power systems will go into operation in Burchardkai, Tollerort and Eurogate container terminals.

The system, which was inaugurated in Altona in 2018, was considered a pilot project at the time. In 2023, 640 tonnes of CO2 were saved thanks to the onshore power, which corresponds to the CO2 emissions of around 270,000 litres of petrol from cars. The new measures should reduce emissions even further. The City of Hamburg has set itself the goal of meeting the global demand for climate-neutral logistics chains and ship voyages. To this end, the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and its subsidiary Cruise Gate Hamburg have reached an agreement with all cruise lines on onshore power to make low-emission energy economically viable.