The ports have signed various “collaboration agreements” covering the “development, cooperation and continuation” of environmental efforts over the period 2009-2014, with one being a specific initiative to work together on electricity connections for vessels.

Port of Tallinn said in a statement: “The passenger ferry quays in Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallinn and Turku are located close to the city centres. The areas are of high value for real estate projects, which are being developed closer and closer to the ports. The combination of noise, vibration and other ship emissions (CO2 , NOx and PM) can have a negative effect on existing and future living and working areas. The four ports see that one option for reducing or even eliminating all the negative effects is to connect ferries to the on-shore electricity grid while berthed.”

Under the MoU, the ports have agreed to three points: ?

• The ports will provide new shore power connections with a voltage of 11 kV and a frequency of 50 Hz.
• The parties will jointly encourage other ports and shipping companies to follow the initiative and recommendations concerning onshore power supply standards. ?
• The parties will continue to work to minimise the negative effects on the environment of port  operations and shipping in the Baltic Sea region.

The Port of Tallinn noted that the European Union has “implemented the directive for alternative fuel infrastructure (DAFI, September 2015), which will make shore connections in TEN-T ports mandatory under certain circumstances by 2025 at the latest. The worldwide standard for onshore power supply is developed and described in IEC/ ISO/IEEE 80005-1 to 3”. The signing of the MoU took place in Helsinki during the BalticPorts Organisation’s (BPO) Conference, which celebrated BPO’s 25th anniversary 

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This complete item is approximately 300 words in length, and appeared in the September 2016 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 58. To access this issue download the PDF here.