It has taken almost two decades, but Carnival Corp has finally done it.
The world’s largest cruise ship operator has given Holland America Line’s fleet of 11 vessels the capability to connect to shore power when they are in port.
Shore power technology enables docked ships to connect to a land-based source of electricity so that vessels can turn off their onboard engines and run on electricity from the local electrical grid.
This prevents vessels from spewing exhaust into ports of call and adjoining cities while at berth for several hours, if not longer.
Carnival said it just completed installing shore power connectivity on the 1,432-berth ship Volendam (built 1999) while it was docked in Vancouver, British Columbia, so that it could connect to the local electrical grid for its first full day on Wednesday.
The company did not say when its other R-Class ship — the 1,432-berth Zaandam (built 2000) — received shore power capability.
Holland America Line began converting its fleet over to shore power connectivity in 2006 by giving the capability to its four Vista-Class ships: 1,918-berth Noordam (built 2006); 1,916-berth Westerdam (built 2004); 1,916-berth Oosterdam (built 2003); and 1,916-berth Zuiderdam (built 2002).
Carnival said its three Pinnacle Class vessels — the 2,650-berth Koningsdam (built 2016), 2,650-berth Nieuw Statendam (built 1998) and 2,650-berth Rotterdam (built 2021) — were built with shore power systems installed.
Its two Signature Class ships — the 2,104-berth Eurodam (built 2008) and 2,100-berth Nieuw Amsterdam (built 2010) — were launched with partial installations that have been completed since then.
“At Holland America Line, our legacy of exceptional on-board care extends to caring for the planet, and having our entire fleet capable of shore power connection is a tremendous milestone in our sustainability efforts,” president Gus Antorcha said in a statement.
“We have committed to reducing our carbon emission intensity 20% by 2030 from our 2019 baseline, and we’re on our way to reaching that goal through a variety of initiatives that include shore power.
“We look forward to more global ports embracing shore power capability in the future and are ready to work with them to connect.”
Holland America Line’s ships can connect to shore power in 18 ports that include Juneau, Alaska; New York; San Francisco and San Diego in California; Seattle, Washington; and Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver in Canada.
It is also able to connect its ships to local electrical grids in the Norwegian ports of Bergen, Alesund and Kristiansand; Kiel, Germany; and Shanghai and Xiamen in China.
The company said there are more than 25 additional ports worldwide that are building shore power facilities or investigating the option to do so. The Dutch port of Rotterdam is expected to be ready for shore power next year.
As TradeWinds reported in mid-August, Carnival has outfitted its three Cunard vessels — the 2,691-berth Queen Mary 2 (built 2003), 2,061-berth Queen Victoria (built 2007) and 2,081-berth Queen Elizabeth (built 2010) — with the capability.
It plans to give the Queen Anne — a 3,000-berth newbuilding that is slated for delivery in May 2024 — the same connectivity before its maiden voyage.
All of Princess Cruises’ 15 ships and five vessels out of Carnival Cruise Line’s 22-vessel fleet are outfitted with shore power capability.
