Ports of Stockholm breaks ground to build Sweden’s first cruise ship onshore power connection facilities
Ports of Stockholm is building onshore power connection facilities for cruise ships at two city centre quays.
The groundbreaking ceremony to begin building the onshore power connections at Stadsgården quay berths 167 and 160 took place during World Water Week 2022.
‘Onshore power connection for cruise ships in the city centre is an important joint environmental initiative that Ports of Stockholm is part of, together with other Baltic Sea ports,’ explainedJoakim Larsson, City Commissioner responsible for Ports of Stockholm.
Ports of Stockholm is working with ports in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Helsinki to enable visiting cruise ships to connect to onshore power.
Sweden’s first onshore power for cruise ships
‘It feels really good that we will also be able to connect cruise ships to onshore power next season. This will be the first facility of its kind in Sweden. Cruise passengers are very important to Stockholm financially, and generate over 1,000 jobs in the region,’ says Thomas Andersson, CEO Ports of Stockholm.
The work to equip the two city centre quays will be completed, respectively, in 2023 and 2024. These cruise quay-berths are two of Ports of Stockholm’s most visited. It is estimated that at least 45% of the cruise ship calls will be able to connect to onshore power when the facilities are in place.
EU and Sweden’s EPA funding
The total reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be at least 6,000 tonnes each year as a result of connecting to onshore power. This environmental investment for cruise ships in Stockholm is a top priority and has been awarded grant funding from both the EU and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leap program.
In 2019, just over 656,000 cruise passengers and an additional 240,000 crew members visited Stockholm. Collectively they spent more than €57m on hotel rooms, food, excursions, shopping etc. In addition, the cruise lines spent a total of €25m on harbour dues, pilotage and fairway dues in Stockholm.
