Cammell Laird kicks off work on £7 million shore power project

British shipbuilding and repair company Cammell Laird has started work on a £7 million project to deliver a clean shore power solution for vessels in refit and repair at its shipyard.

As disclosed, the scheme will be “the first of its kind in the UK”, removing the dependence of vessels undergoing repair, refit, or build on fossil fuel-based power supplies at the Birkenhead shipyard

Cammell Laird, a part of the APCL Group, has secured a £3.5 million funding award for the shore power project from the UK Department for Transport’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 4 (CMDC4).

Integrum has been appointed as the contractor to carry out a high-voltage (HV) upgrade at the facility located on the banks of the Mersey. This upgrade will enable the delivery of clean power to vessels docked at the site, both alongside and in the dry dock.

The project, set to last six months, consists of two main work packages. The first package involves upgrading the existing HV distribution substations at Cammell Laird, including a complete replacement of aging infrastructure.

This package also includes relocating certain assets into new external GRP solutions for Substation No1-B and Substation 5. Additionally, an extensive installation of HV cable overlays will enhance the facility’s capacity for the new shore power solutions. The second package focuses on installing new HV connection points throughout the facility to support the shore power units, the firm said.

“Sustainable shore power plays a vital role in global and national efforts to reduce the impact of the maritime industry on the environment. Our strategy at Cammell Laird is to achieve Net Zero across our operations by 2030,” Mike Hill, Managing Director at Cammell Laird, stated.

“Cammel Laird and the wider APCL Group sustains 100 per cent of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and also provides vital ship repair services to the Royal Navy and the International Seaborne community. This shore power project will further the Ministry of Defence’s and the wider maritime industry’s commitment to reducing the impact of vessels on the environment and it is testament to the vital services we deliver and our reputation in the industry that we were chosen by UK Government to be one of the recipients of this funding,” David McGinley, CEO of APCL Group, added.

“Integrum are thrilled to be involved in a project that is a brand-new industry to us which coincides with what we as a business are aiming to achieve which is to be net carbon zero by 2030. This presents new engineering challenges that we are delighted to be at the forefront of, as no doubt we will take the skills and experience learnt from this and adapt them to upcoming projects,” Charles Darling, project manager of IPE, commented.

APCL company A&P Falmouth is also developing a £12 million Green Shore Power Project following funding from the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) scheme, which is part of the Government’s UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) program.

CMDC4 is part of the Department’s UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions program, a £206 million initiative focused on developing the technology necessary to decarbonize the UK domestic maritime sector.