Hapag-Lloyd Cruises‘ EUROPA 2 received shore power for the first time in a port outside Europe last Monday as part of its call in San Diego, California.
The small luxury ship regularly receives shore power at the Cruise Center Hamburg Altona and Kiel’s Ostseekai, and San Diego has now become the first port in North America.
While MS EUROPA 2 travels along the diverse west coast of America, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises used the first call in San Diego to promote the use of shore power outside of Europe. On its way from San Francisco to Colon, guests on this route experience the world’s most famous suspension bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, glamorous Hollywood flair in Los Angeles and a day passage through the Panama Canal. For the first time on this voyage, EUROPA 2 will call at San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Bahia Magdalena, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatanejo, Puerto Quetzal and Puntarenas – making it a route full of firsts for the ship, crew and guests.
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In 2020, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises used the pandemic-related lay time of the EUROPA 2 in Hamburg to complete the tests for the successful use of the shore power system at the Cruise Center Altona and have it approved by DNV. Since then, EUROPA 2 has been able to obtain shore power anywhere in the world, wherever this energy supply is available. Using shore power reduces CO2- and pollutant emissions in the port are significantly reduced.
Internationally, there are currently around 25 ports with shore power systems for cruise ships.
“The use of shore power is an essential part of our sustainability strategy and enables almost climate-neutral ship operations in the port. For this year we are currently planning around 20 calls in nine ports worldwide, where we will purchase shore power across the fleet,” said Julian Pfitzner, CEO Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, about the plans of luxury and expedition cruises in the German-speaking market.
By 2030, the TUI Group cruise lines, including Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, will have their absolute CO2Reduce e-emissions by more than a quarter (27.5 percent) compared to 2019. The main levers for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ ambitious decarbonization program are the optimisation of schedules and speeds, operational and technical energy efficiency measures, the use of sustainable and climate-friendly biofuels and the continuous expansion of shore-side power use.
EUROPA 2 was the first cruise ship in the world to be equipped with SCR catalytic converters. The catalytic converters reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by almost 95 percent.
After San Diego, EUROPA 2 will receive shore power in seven other ports over the course of the year. With Montreal, another premiere in North America is on the agenda. Shore power is also planned to be purchased in the Norwegian ports of Oslo, Bergen, Ålesund and Kristiansand as well as at the Cruise Center in Hamburg Altona and at Kiel’s Ostseekai.
