Holland America Line fits entire fleet with shore power systems

Cruise line Holland America Line has recently installed a shore power system onboard its vessel Volendam, completing the outfitting of all eleven ships with shore power.

As informed, Volendam completed the installation in Vancouver, British Columbia, and connected to the port’s shoreside electricity for the first full day on 27 September.

The cruise line began converting ships to have shore power connectivity in 2006 with its four Vista-class ships; its Pinnacle-class ships (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam) all were built with shore power systems installed, and the Signature-class ships (Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam) were launched with a partial installation that has since been completed. 

“We have committed to reducing our carbon emission intensity 20% by 2026 from our 2019 baseline, and we’re on our way to reaching that goal through a variety of initiatives that include shore power. We look forward to more global ports embracing shore power capability in the future and are ready to work with them to connect,” said Gus Antorcha, president, Holland America Line. 

As a part of its sustainability initiatives, Holland America Line uses shore power, also referred to as cold ironing, to reduce emissions and noise in port.

Shore power works by plugging the ship into a dockside source, and the power source enables the ship to run all electrical equipment on board without using the ship’s engines.

Holland America Line can connect to more than 18 ports worldwide, with more than 25 additional ports actively constructing shore power facilities or investigating the option to do so.

Ports that the company’s ships visit with shore power include Juneau, Alaska; New York; San Francisco and San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver, Canada; Bergen, Ålesund and Kristiansand, Norway; Kiel, Germany; and Shanghai and Xiamen, China.

In 2024, the port of Rotterdam is expected to be shore-power ready, allowing Holland America Line ships to connect to another of its major ports.

In addition to shore power, Holland America Line demonstrates its commitment to responsible environmental practices through a comprehensive fleetwide program that emphasizes waste reduction and recycling, compliance with all international environmental guidelines and lower-emission propulsion technology.