ABP beefs up shore power plans at the Port of Southampton

Associated British Ports (ABP) plans to install a second shore power connection at the Port of Southampton as part of its partnership with Carnival UK to enable sustainable cruising.

The shore power connection is set to be installed at the port’s Mayflower cruise terminal, with expected commissioning during 2021.

The announcement is being made after ABP revealed that shore power would be one of the leading environmental features incorporated into the design of the port’s new Horizon cruise terminal.

Horizon Cruise Terminal joins the line-up of the four existing cruise terminals in the port, namely Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Terminal, City Cruise Terminal, Ocean Cruise Terminal, and Mayflower Cruise Terminal.

According to the port operator, the port could see CO2 emission savings of up to 863 kg in CO2 and 10.5 kg of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) per vessel call each year as cruise ships with cold ironing capability start plugging onto the shore power connection.

“A number of our P&O Cruises and Cunard ships are already shore-power enabled and we have plans to install this capability across our fleet. We very much look forward to our return to service this summer and being able to plug into this option while our ships are in port,” Carnival UK President Simon Palethorpe said.

The move follows a £12 million ($17 million) investment at the port’s Ocean Terminal in readiness for LNG-powered P&O Cruises’ Iona.

This investment has received support from HM Government’s Local Growth Deal that provides funds to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) for projects that benefit the local area and economy.

The partial funding of the project is being viewed as a potential pathway for Solent LEP to fund other alternative fuel projects at each of the dedicated cruise terminals in the port.