Shore-power specialist Cavotec has been awarded a contract by Nidec ASI to provide shore power facilities to five cruise liner berths at Malta’s Valletta Grand Harbour. The project is part of a major EU-funded initiative by Infrastructure Malta to electrify the entire harbor and reduce harmful portside ship emissions by 90%.
Mikael Norin, Cavotec CEO, commented on the award: “Shore power provides clean energy to cruise liners within minutes of their arrival. This deployment could be the blueprint for many historic port cities around Europe. Cities such as Venice, Lisbon and Malta all rely on a large proportion of sea-borne tourism traffic. We hope this contract will be the first of many as it proves how effective our ShorePower solutions can be.
“Our technology provides the perfect clean-air alternative needed for historic ports such as Valletta. With almost a million ship-bound tourists arriving every year, it is vital that the city can provide an environment they can enjoy.”
Cavotec says that its shore power solution has been designed to meet the specific requirements of the Port of Valletta and connect vessels over their entire port length. This includes a mobile cable management system, PowerMove, to provide ship-to-shore connectivity. The PowerMove units are connected to the island’s energy infrastructure to power vessels while in port.
Four of the PowerMove units are designed to travel 45m along a vessel’s berth, from the shore socket box to the vessel connection point. The fifth will extend further, spanning more than 55m, to meet the specific requirements of the Deep Water Quay.
A remotely controlled telescopic arm adjusts to match the tide changes and the location of the power connections on cruise ships. The units can provide power to cruise vessels independently of their electrical requirement: 6.6KV or 11KV at 50Hz or 60Hz to meet the variety of cruise ship configurations that utilize the port facilities.