Hapag-LLoyd’s luxury cruise ship, ‘Europa 2’ has received certification for her cold ironing connection by class society DNV GL.
This certificate is the result of undisrupted testing the compatibility of cold ironing. This is claimed to be the first instance of a cruise ship using cold ironing for a long period of time while alongside.
The cold ironing’s connection compatibility at Hamburg’s Cruise Centre in Altona was adjusted by HPA, as the smaller ‘Europa 2’ requires a lower voltage than the other cruise ships that use cold ironing facilities while alongside. As a result, the settings can be easily changed when the cruise ship stops at the port in future.
‘Europa 2’ used cold ironing at Altona for 30 days and was able to save a total of 600 tonnes of carbon dioxide. All Hapag-Lloyd’s new cruise ships are now equipped for cold ironing.
With a maximum of 500 pax, the cruise ship requires 2.2 MW of power per hour during berthing time, which reduces the ship’s emissions to almost zero. The electricity used is supplied by Hamburg Energie and comes from 100% renewable resources, meaning that the ship’s operation in the port is nearly climate-neutral.
“We are glad that we have been able to make such valuable use of this forced break by driving forward cold ironing and the certification of the ‘Europa 2’. The fact that a cruise ship has used cold ironing over a long period of time in Hamburg is an important and unprecedented experience,” said Karl Pojer, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises CEO. “Successful use of cold ironing is another important part of our environmental strategy. We use marine gas oil with a low 0.1% sulfur content in the whole fleet, all over the world, thereby going beyond the legal requirements.”
By using low sulfur marine gas oil, Hapag-Lloyd’s sulfur emissions will be cut by 80%. The switch to marine gas oil also means a reduction in soot and particulates of up to 30%.
Furthermore, all routes are carefully planned with the vessels operating at an environmentally efficient average speed, which reduces consumption by 30% and also lowers emissions.
