Photo: Costa Cruises
“Guilt-free” maritime travels for those who are eco-aware are slowly, but surely becoming possible in different parts of the world. A combined use of alternative fuel and battery power can make a major difference, and small European projects have already proven that. Through the development of adequate port infrastructure, green cruising could become a reality sooner than we might think.
In the summer of 2022, a Norwegian ship wrote history. The newly-built Havila Castor successfully completed the first zero-emission cruise through Norway’s world heritage fjord, the Geirangerfjord. Fitted with what it claimed to be the world’s largest battery pack installed on a passenger ship (6.1 MWh) the Havila Castor can handle a four-hour trip on battery power alone.
During the milestone voyage, it sailed for three hours, spending around 60% of its battery capacity. This was just the beginning, and the ship’s operator, Havila Kystruten, will continue to develop the use of battery power for its ships. However, in order for this to work, it takes much more than the ship itself. One of the essential elements in this equation is having access to shore power for recharging these electric vessels.
This is where port infrastructure comes in, and several European ports are already working on this. In Norway’s case, this milestone battery-powered voyage came in direct response to newly-established regulations. According to these national regulations, cruise ships and ferries travelling in the Norwegian World Heritage fjords must be entirely without emissions. The deadline was set for 2026, but Havila Kyustruten showed that it can be done even earlier.
Bigger cruise operators, such as Costa Cruises (Costa Crociere) share similar ambitious goals, but with different deadlines – it’s obviously much more difficult to get huge ships to carry out extensive cruises with zero emissions. It will be decades before that’s possible. Still, small steps are gradually leading up to that. LNG (liquefied natural gas) is the main change so far, with the use of batteries for port operations also coming up.
With help from Enel (Italy’s national entity for electricity) Costa Cruises ships will be able to operate with zero emissions during port operations (entering, docking, and leaving). Depending on the number of hours during which a ship remains stationary, this could amount to almost half of the ship’s operating day. In other words, a significant emissions reduction, by switching to green port operations.
The first stage of this collaboration will be to refit an existing cruise ship with a battery pack. At the same time, Italian and other Mediterranean ports will be equipped with recharging systems. Soon, all Costa cruise ships will be able to basically operate as zero-emission vessels from the moment they enter the ports, until they exit.
Later, Enel and Costa Cruises plan to extend these changes to Spain as well.
During the milestone voyage, it sailed for three hours, spending around 60% of its battery capacity. This was just the beginning, and the ship’s operator, Havila Kystruten, will continue to develop the use of battery power for its ships. However, in order for this to work, it takes much more than the ship itself. One of the essential elements in this equation is having access to shore power for recharging these electric vessels.
This is where port infrastructure comes in, and several European ports are already working on this. In Norway’s case, this milestone battery-powered voyage came in direct response to newly-established regulations. According to these national regulations, cruise ships and ferries travelling in the Norwegian World Heritage fjords must be entirely without emissions. The deadline was set for 2026, but Havila Kyustruten showed that it can be done even earlier.
Bigger cruise operators, such as Costa Cruises (Costa Crociere) share similar ambitious goals, but with different deadlines – it’s obviously much more difficult to get huge ships to carry out extensive cruises with zero emissions. It will be decades before that’s possible. Still, small steps are gradually leading up to that. LNG (liquefied natural gas) is the main change so far, with the use of batteries for port operations also coming up.
With help from Enel (Italy’s national entity for electricity) Costa Cruises ships will be able to operate with zero emissions during port operations (entering, docking, and leaving). Depending on the number of hours during which a ship remains stationary, this could amount to almost half of the ship’s operating day. In other words, a significant emissions reduction, by switching to green port operations.
The first stage of this collaboration will be to refit an existing cruise ship with a battery pack. At the same time, Italian and other Mediterranean ports will be equipped with recharging systems. Soon, all Costa cruise ships will be able to basically operate as zero-emission vessels from the moment they enter the ports, until they exit.
Later, Enel and Costa Cruises plan to extend these changes to Spain as well.
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