Carnival subsidiary AIDA Cruises’s passenger ship AIDAsol inaugurated Europe’s largest shore-power plant in a ceremony held in Rostock-Warnemünde at Germany’s 12th National Maritime Conference
The shore-power plant was established under a joint agreement between AIDA Cruises and the state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the city of Rostock and Rostock Port.
It was completed mid-2020 and is currently the largest of its kind in Europe. With an output of up to 20 MVA, two cruise ships can be supplied with electricity at the same time in Warnemünde at berths P7 and P8. In regular passenger operation, AIDAsol needs up to 4.5 MWh of electricity.
AIDA president Felix Eichhorn said “The shore-power plant in Rostock-Warnemünde is another important step after the facility in Hamburg on our way to the emissions-neutral cruise we want to achieve with our fleet. I would like to thank the state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and all partners involved for the good and trusting co-operation. Together, we are sending out an important signal, not just in Germany, but throughout Europe.”
With AIDA Cruises starting a cruise season from Kiel, Germany on 22 May, AIDAsol will also be the first cruise ship to complete the final tests on the newly built shore-power plant there. Its construction is the result of a joint initiative by the state government of Schleswig-Holstein, the city and the port of Kiel and AIDA Cruises. AIDAsol is scheduled to arrive in Kiel on 13 May.
Since 2017, AIDA Cruises has been using Europe’s first shore-power plant in Hamburg-Altona with AIDAsol in regular operation. Currently, 10 ships in the AIDA fleet can use shore power where available or are technically prepared for it.
This year, AIDAnova will receive the first fuel cell to be used on an oceangoing cruise ship. In 2022, the largest battery storage system to date in cruise shipping will go into operation on board an AIDA ship and the operator said it is addressing the question of how regenerative fuels can be used on board cruise ships in the future.
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