Shore power is one of those cruise industry terms we seem to be hearing a lot more lately. Cruise lines are talking about it, ports are spending millions of dollars installing it, environmental groups want more of it, and the average cruiser is probably wondering what shore power actually is and why anyone should care.
The easiest way to explain it is that shore power allows a cruise ship to plug into the local electrical grid while it’s docked instead of keeping its own engines running to make electricity. Think of it as plugging in a floating hotel. A very large floating hotel with thousands of rooms, restaurants, elevators, swimming pools, air conditioning and more lights than most small towns.
Even when a cruise ship is sitting still, it needs a huge amount of power. The air conditioning doesn’t shut off, food still needs to stay cold, elevators keep running and kitchens are preparing meals for hungry passengers. Then you have to figure in everyone charging phones, watching television and leaving every light in their cabin turned on. I’m guilty of that last one.
Without shore power, the ship has to generate all that electricity on its own. With shore power, it can plug in, shut down most of its onboard generators and pull electricity from the local grid. It sounds simple enough, but of course, nothing involving cruise ships is ever quite that simple.
Why Are We Hearing More About Shore Power Now?
Shore power isn’t new. It has been used by ferries, military ships, cargo vessels and some cruise ships for years. What’s changing is that more ports are installing it, more new ships are being built to use it and governments are beginning to expect demand it.
Ports near residential areas are also under more pressure to reduce noise and air pollution, especially in places where several cruise ships may be docked close to homes, hotels and downtown neighborhoods. Cruise lines are also under constant pressure to show what they’re doing to reduce emissions, and shore power gives them something fairly easy to explain. When a ship is plugged in, there’s less engine noise, less vibration and less exhaust coming from the funnel while it’s sitting in port.
Europe is helping push things along as well. Beginning in 2030, large passenger ships visiting many major European ports will generally be required to use shore power or another zero-emission option while docked for extended periods. That’s giving both cruise lines and ports a pretty strong reason to get moving.
More new ships are being delivered with shore power capability, and cruise lines are even retrofitting some of their older ships at a huge cost. The problem is that the ships are getting ready faster than many of the ports are. A ship can have everything it needs to plug in, but that doesn’t do much good when there’s nowhere to plug it in.
Why Did It Take So Long?
The obvious question is why this hasn’t been standard for years. After all, how hard can it be to plug a ship into an outlet?
Very hard, apparently.
A cruise ship can use enough electricity to power a small town. You’re not running an extension cord down the pier and plugging it into the side of the ship. A port may need a new electrical substation, transformers, high-voltage cables, safety systems, switching equipment and large cable-management systems that can move as the ship rises and falls with the tide.
The local power grid also needs to have enough spare capacity to handle the demand. That can be a major problem at smaller ports and island destinations. Some of these places already have electrical grids that struggle to meet local demand, so adding a cruise ship that suddenly needs enough electricity for several thousand people isn’t always realistic without major upgrades.
Then there’s the cost. Installing shore power can cost tens of millions of dollars, depending on the port, the number of berths being equipped and how much work needs to be done to the local electrical grid. That’s a big investment for something many passengers won’t even notice.
For years, ports didn’t want to spend millions of dollars installing shore power if only a few ships could use it, and cruise lines didn’t want to spend millions retrofitting ships if only a few ports offered it. Now that environmental rules are becoming stricter and more new ships are being built with the capability, both the cruise lines and the ports have a better reason to make the investment.
Do All New Cruise Ships Have Shore Power?
Most major new cruise ships are being built with shore power capability or are designed so it can be added more easily later. That doesn’t necessarily mean every new ship can plug into every port.
The ship and port need to use compatible equipment. The voltage and electrical frequency need to match, the correct connection equipment needs to be available and the ship needs to be assigned to a berth that actually has shore power.
That last part is where things can get messy. A port may say that it offers shore power, but that doesn’t mean every cruise terminal or berth has it. If four ships are in port and only one berth has shore power, three ships are still going to be running their own generators. Some systems may also only have enough capacity to power one ship at a time.
What About Older Cruise Ships?
Older ships can be retrofitted for shore power, and many have been, but this isn’t the same as adding a USB outlet next to the bed. The ship may need new transformers, switchgear, cables, safety equipment, control systems and changes to the way its electrical system operates.
That work is often completed during a major dry dock because parts of the ship may need to be opened up to install the equipment. Whether a cruise line decides to upgrade an older ship usually comes down to cost, where the ship sails and how long it’s expected to remain in service.
It may make sense to retrofit a ship that still has another 15 years ahead of it and regularly sails in places such as Alaska, California or Europe, where shore power is becoming more common. It may not make much sense to spend millions on a ship that’s approaching retirement age or mostly visits ports where shore power isn’t available.
Do All Cruise Ports Have Shore Power?
Not even close.
Only a relatively small number of cruise ports currently offer shore power, although that number continues to grow. You’re more likely to find it at major homeports and destinations where the same ships return week after week. Seattle, Vancouver, Juneau, Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami and several Northern European ports have all invested in it.
Alaska has been a major area for shore power because cruise ships visit the same ports repeatedly and many of those ports are close to residential neighborhoods. Seattle now offers shore power at all of its cruise berths, while PortMiami has installed connections as part of a partnership involving several cruise lines and Florida Power & Light.
Even in major cruise ports, however, availability can vary by terminal and berth. Just because one ship is plugged in doesn’t mean the ship next to it can.
Smaller Caribbean islands face a much bigger challenge. A port may need new power plants, transmission lines or substations before it can even think about supplying electricity to a cruise ship. In some places, the local electrical grid simply wasn’t built to handle that kind of sudden demand.
There’s also the question of where the electricity comes from. Shore power reduces exhaust around the ship because the onboard generators can be shut down, which is good for passengers, crew members, dock workers and anyone living near the port. However, the overall environmental benefit depends partly on how the local electricity is produced.
If the power comes from an old oil- or coal-fired plant, the pollution may simply be happening somewhere else instead of at the pier. There’s still a benefit to getting the exhaust and noise away from crowded port areas, but shore power isn’t automatically clean just because the ship is plugged in.
What Does a Port Need to Install It?
A port needs much more than a few big cables sitting on the dock. Shore power may require a major connection to the local electrical grid, a dedicated substation, transformers, frequency converters, high-voltage cables, control systems and emergency shutdown equipment.
The system also needs to safely connect to a ship that is floating in the water and constantly moving slightly with tides, waves and changes in weight. Once the ship is docked, trained crew members and port workers connect the cables and synchronize the ship’s electrical system with the port’s system.
Power is gradually transferred from the ship’s generators to the shoreside connection. Once everything is stable, the onboard generators can be shut down or reduced. Before departure, the whole process happens again in reverse.
Why Should Cruisers Care?
Shore power probably isn’t going to influence many people when choosing a cruise. Nobody is saying, “I booked this ship because it has a great steakhouse, a huge casino and shore power.”
Cruise ships can spend eight, ten or even twelve hours sitting at a dock. Homeport days can be even longer as one group of passengers leaves and the next group boards. During all that time, the ship still needs electricity.
Reducing the amount of time onboard generators are running can improve air quality, cut down on noise and vibration and make the port environment better for everyone nearby. That includes the passengers, but it also includes crew members, dock workers and people who live or work near the terminals every day.
For now, shore power is most commonly found in major North American and European cruise ports. It’s much less common at smaller Caribbean and island destinations, where the local electrical grid may not be able to handle the demand.
The next time you’re standing on your balcony and see a bundle of enormous cables running from the pier to the ship, take a closer look. Your floating hotel may be plugged into the local power grid.
It won’t be the most exciting thing that happens on your cruise, but it’s something we’re going to be hearing a lot more about in the years ahead.
