Onshore power connection for vessels

Today a large part of the regular ferry services to and from Ports of Stockholm connect to onshore power. Ports of Stockholm is working together with energy providers, other ports, and shipping customers for further expansion of the infrastructure.

Ferry services are connected to onshore power

The Viking Line vessels Gabriella and Mariella, operating on the Helsinki route, have connected to onshore power since the 1980s. From 2019, four Tallink Silja vessels, Silja Symphony, Silja Serenade, Baltic Queen and Victoria, operating on the Helsinki and Tallinn routes, are also connected to onshore power. At the port of Nynäshamn the Polferries Gdansk-route vessel, Wawel, is connected to onshore power and work is in progress for the connection of Destination Gotland's vessels. A project for onshore power connection of Finnline's ferry traffic is also underway in Port of Kapellskär. The archipelago and charter boat services all connect to electricity at the quayside in Stockholm.

The services already connected to onshore power, or are next in line, are also those where onshore power connection has the greatest impact, as those vessels constitute by far the most frequent traffic. The same vessels operate on routes to and from the same ports. A small number of obvious partners are involved and can jointly agree on one solution and funding.

International cruise ships

The international cruise ships that call during the summer season are not yet able to connect to onshore power at Ports of Stockholm's ports. Some of the quays are however better prepared than others to enable this, for example those at the Värtahamnen port.

Ports of Stockholm has been awarded Swedish government funding, and together with the Baltic Sea ports of Copenhagen/Malmö, Aarhus and Helsinki EU funding, for investing in onshore power supply for cruise vessels. For Ports of Stockholm the investment means equipping two central quays in Stockholm with high voltage. The work will be completed, respectively, in 2023 and 2024. When the project is completed, the assessment is that at least 45 percent of the cruise calls to Ports of Stockholm can connect to onshore power.

Ports of Stockholm is working from a plan of action to be able to offer more vessels onshore power connection at the quayside. This is a long-term effort, as it requires collaboration and dialogue with the shipping companies and with the other Baltic Sea ports. It also requires a high power output supply and major investment.

Ports of Stockholm’s strategy and environmental discounts

Whenever ports or quays are constructed or refurbished, the strategy of Ports of Stockholm is to install facilities to enable vessels to connect to onshore power at these quay-berths. For example, all of the quay-berths at the Värtahamnen port are enabled for onshore power connection. At Stockholm Norvik Port all quay-berths have onshore power connection capabilities.

For many years Ports of Stockholm has offered environmental discounts to encourage customers to implement environmentally beneficial measures. These incentives focus on reduced emission of air pollutants and reward vessels that have better environmental performance. For example, a grant of SEK 1 million is offered to shipping companies choosing to invest in vessel-conversion for onshore power connection on board a ferry in regular service.

Ports of Stockholm’s jurisdiction

Ports of Stockholm is classed as a public port. This means that the port authorities must in principle allow any vessel that wants to use the port to do so. In other words, Ports of Stockholm cannot insist that vessels connect to onshore power.