Hapag-Lloyd has signed an agreement with the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) on the use of shore power in the Port of Hamburg, committing the container shipping company to using available onshore power supply (OPS) infrastructure whenever possible and integrating it into operational vessel management.

The agreement covers shore power supply at all terminals within the port. Two of the company’s vessels — Al Muraykh and Tihama, both operating on the Asia–North Europe Service NE2 — have already used shore power during port calls in Hamburg in recent weeks.

Shore power allows suitably equipped vessels to draw electricity from the onshore grid while berthed in port, rather than running auxiliary engines, which can help reduce emissions within port boundaries. According to Hapag-Lloyd, around 35% of its current fleet is fully equipped for shore power; and all newbuildings are said to be already shore power-ready, with retrofitting of suitable vessels in the existing fleet ongoing.

Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, commented: “Shore power is an important element on our path toward lower-emission vessel operations in ports and toward our goal of achieving net-zero fleet emissions by 2045. All our newbuildings are already shore power-ready, and we are retrofitting suitable vessels in the existing fleet accordingly. Wherever the infrastructure is available and its use makes operational sense, we use shore power. Hamburg demonstrates how investments in lower-emission vessel operations can be put into practice.”

Hapag-Lloyd operates a fleet of 302 container ships with a total transport capacity of 2.5 million TEU, according to the company. It holds equity stakes in 24 marine terminals across Europe, Latin America, the United States, India and North Africa.