The tiny Mediterranean country of Malta has been at the forefront of a shorepower project, Phase 1 of which has been successful enough to pave the way for a second phase.
“We have been the front-runner in the Med to accomplish a very dynamic project,” said Norbert Grech, Senior Manager – Ports & Yachting Directorate with Transport Malta, presenting at GreenPort in Le Havre.
“As an EU member state we have led three projects that are ongoing, one of which has been done for cruise ships, and we are proud to say that we can connect five vessels at one go.
“All the port is OPS (Onshore Power Supply) for cruise vessels and in Phase 2, which we have started, it will be dedicated mostly to RoRo and RoPax ferries.”
The project, which has been 75% EU funded, caters for up to 120 cruise liners a year and the power is sourced from either Malta’s LNG power station or from an interconnector with Italy.
“This is done via a 48-hour notification from the customers to tell us how much they need so that we do not disrupt any household power needs,” he said.
The project was carried out partly because of where the port is: in the middle of three cities, which complained about the noise, pollution and inconvenience of cruise liners berthing there so often.
“We have calculated that 17,000 people have benefited from the decrease of emissions,” he said. “And there are 40% less CO2 emissions.”
Since the shore power was switched on in July this year, Grech says 13-14 MSC cruise ships have used the facility, at a cost of 80 cents per kWH. The cruise ship MSC World Europa, was the first vessel to hook up in Valletta, and was officially inaugurated by the Maltese prime minister
PM Robert Abela toured the vessel while it used power from the local grid to keep its on-board systems going instead of its engines, which were switched off.
The 22-deck MSC World Europa is powered by LNG, says MSC Cruises, and operates seven-night cruises around Malta, Spain, France and Italy.
Speaking at the presentation, one member of the audience said all cruise ships were now leaving the shipyards equipped for shore power – it was the ports that didn’t have the facilities to accommodate them.
MSC Cruises, which has committed to equipping 16 of its 22 vessels to receive shore-side electricity by the end of this year, owns 50% of a shipyard at Malta, where most of its old vessels are retrofitted, Grech said.
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