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The Port of Montreal has completed its shore power project, which now enables ships berthing at the new cruise terminal to shut down their engines and be powered by electricity, thus reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

The project was rolled out in two phases: the first was shore power for wintering vessels and the second, for cruise ships.

In 2016, the MPA developed four power supply stations at berths 25, 27, 29 and M2 for vessels that winter at the port.

As part of the rehabilitation of Alexandra Pier and the cruise terminal, Montreal Port Authority (MPA) had the necessary equipment installed to provide shore power for cruise ships.

To provide a sufficiently powerful power supply for cruise ships, Hydro-Quebec installed a new 25-kilovolt (kV) line to supply the new substation installed at the cruise terminal in 2016.

For its part, Schneider Electric designed and built the equipment needed to install the electrical substation. Carried out in 2016 and 2017, these works led on July 29 to the first ever connection to Holland America Line's cruise ship, the MS Veendam.

The total cost of the project was $11 million. The government of Canada is contributing up to $5 million under its Shore Power Technology for Ports Program; the government of Quebec contributed $3 million under its program to improve marine, air and rail transportation efficiency to reduce GHG emissions (PETMAF en matiere de reduction des emissions de GES); and the MPA, for its part, contributed $3 million to the project.

"This shore power project will result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, offsetting virtually all the GHG emissions for which the MPA is responsible," said Sylvie Vachon, President and CEO of the MPA.

"This investment, which will make it possible to consolidate the Port of Montreal's position in the international cruise network, demonstrates the Government of Quebec's commitment to contribute to Quebec's economic development, in keeping with the principles of sustainable mobility. In addition to optimizing the energy efficiency of a marine transportation sector, the investment is major backing for implementing a project that benefits the environment," said Laurent Lessard, Quebec Minister of Transport, Sustainable Mobility and Transport Electrification.

LNG bunkers in Quebec

Back in May, Bunker Index reported that the Port of Montreal and Gaz Metro had announced that an LNG bunker supply service is to be made available to shipowners in Quebec, including fleets passing through the port of Montreal.

Gaz Metro's liquefaction plant in Montreal - the only one of its kind in Eastern Canada - has a total annual LNG production capacity of more than nine billion cubic feet.

In April, Gaz Metro confirmed the completion of a project - originally announced in September 2014 - to equip the plant with new loading facilities and a liquefaction train that would triple the total annual LNG production and deliveries.

Gaz Metro supplies LNG to the F.A. Gauthier, which is operated by Societe des traversiers du Quebec (STQ). It was the first ferry to run on LNG in North America and the first ship of any kind to run on LNG in Canada.

Image: The MS Veendam berthed alongside a Cavotec shore power system in Montreal.