Image: ABB

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Seattle-headquartered Holland America Line has retrofitted three of its vessels with ABB's shore power connectors in a move designed to allow the ships to completely turn off their engines and save fuel by switching to electricity generated in a power plant on shore when berthed at a port.

According to Juha Koskela, Managing Director, ABB Marine & Ports, the full installation of its shore power connectors can be performed during the normal operation of a vessel.

The company says it has taken steps to streamline and minimize disruption during the installation process, whether it be for newbuilds or retrofits.

Discussing the Holland America Line project, Koskela remarked: "We completed three turnkey projects simultaneously, covering procurement, engineering, installation and commissioning."

Additionally, the solution put together for Holland America Line is said to include a simplified switchover process, enabling a more seamless transition between ship and shore power sources - compared to up to 20 minutes on existing shore power solutions.

And after having executed three new installations, Holland America Line will proceed to feature a total of 11 cruise ships outfitted with ABB's shore power connectors, ABB says.

"Holland America Line remains firmly committed to including new technical solutions that truly advance its policy for sustainable operations," commented Orlando Ashford, President, Holland America Line. "Our ships call at the world's most beautiful destinations, which is one reason we prioritize environmental responsibility. These ships can now achieve very low emissions while in ports where shore power is available."

Varying standards for connectors and cables, one single interface

An increasing number of ports in Asia, Europe and North America are investing in shore power infrastructure for visiting ships, yet implementation standards for connectors and cables vary, ABB notes.

ISO 80005-1 offers an international standard covering design, installation and testing of high-voltage shore connections and an update for low-voltage systems is in the pipeline, but the lack of such a standard has hindered the adoption of shore power, ABB explains.

Primary distribution voltage, for instance, can vary from 440 volts to 11 kilovolts, while load requirements can range from a few hundred kilowatts (kW) in the case of car carriers to a dozen or more megawatts (MW) in the case of passenger ships or reefer ships.

ABB notes that it is able to offer a single interface for complete port electrification and grid integration that is compliant worldwide and can be installed for newbuilding projects or for retrofit.