Why shore power ‘makes no sense’ for some ports

‘Shore power benefits the environment when the power plant on shore is clean,’ said Jeff Bent, MD, Worldwide Cruise Terminals. ‘In places where shore power was pioneered, like the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Seattle… and in Norway, where it's all hydropower, the power is both clean and cheap,’ he explained, ‘whereas in many places in Asia, the power can be fueled entirely by coal so the ships are, in some cases, cleaner than the power plants.’ In such instances, to incentivise ships to use shore power would be detrimental to the environment.

Echoing these sentiments was Bud Darr, EVP, maritime policy and government affairs, MSC Group, stating, ‘It makes no sense whatsoever to require cruise ships or any other ships to use shore power if the source of that power is dirtier than what the ship will produce.’ He described ‘not having enough grid density to deliver the expectations of shore power’ as a ‘significant challenge’ for some areas.

LNG is seen as a future-oriented technology by Bent with Hong Kong expected to start using it soon; an environmental mandate in Hong Kong specifies a 50% reduction in the cruise terminal's carbon footprint by 2050.

Kamal Abdollah, MD, NV Terminals, explained that most of the power in southeast Asia is coal-based. Eventually, shore power will become available when this is ‘viable.’ Plus, ‘shore power itself is expensive,’ he said. 

Related:Mixed reactions to state-owned cruise line enterprise in China

The comments were made this afternoon during the ‘Navigating ESG in Asia’s Cruise Market’ panel at Seatrade Cruise Asia, taking place November 12-13 at the Shangri-La The Fort, Manila, the Philippines.

Achieving net zero 

Joel Katz, MD of Cruise Lines International Association in Australasia, began the session with a presentation where he explained that there are 32 pilot programs currently underway by cruise lines to achieve net zero by 2050: 24 cruise ships are trialing biofuels, six are trialing synthetic carbon fuels and two are trialing alternative energy sources or digital technologies.  

46% of the global fleet is already equipped to connect to shore power and this is expected to increase to 72% by 2028. Less than 2% of ports offer this capability worldwide, with just eight ports in Asia using shore power, currently. 

CLIA is also working closely with the International Maritime Organization to strengthen existing regulation, but also to advocate for fuel centres that will ‘drive real, genuine impacts.’ 

Activism

Darr and Katz were in agreement that sustainability issues are foremost driven by environmental activists. '[In] Asia there is a growing sensitivity on these issues, but they are still lagging behind whereas in the case of Europe and the US, it tends to be driven more by activists than it does by the government,’ commented Darr.

Related:Cruise industry leaders delve into the future prospects of Asia's cruise market

And ‘there is quite an… anti tourism movement in New Zealand,' according to Katz. 

Cruise tourism in New Zealand contributes $1.4m to the economy and provides more than 10,000 jobs. Studies have recently launched to see if this offsets environmental impacts. ‘They do rely on tourism so it's quite surprising,’ Katz observed. 

Meaningful action

Variety Cruises CEO Filippos Venetopoulos said the cruise line focuses on sourcing food locally and supporting local communities through its products. ‘We offer half board,’ said the CEO, ‘so one of the meals is outside of the ship. That's an element that helps local communities in the sense of spending USD, euros, whatever the currency is [on food].’ 

The line isn’t currently operating in Asia but is ‘looking to return’ to the region. It is in dialogue with the Philippines, including the government, travel agents and tour operators, where it is delving into the local sourcing of food. 

Venetopoulos noted, ‘Our strategy is to create a positive impact on the regions we visit. When we used to operate in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, we established beach cleanups.’ The company has partnered with Sustainable Tourism International to address the climate emergency and carbon offset one of its vessels.

Related:President of the Philippines attends Seatrade Cruise Asia Welcome Reception