The Port of Seattle has become the first port in the nation to independently require that 100 per cent of all cruise vessels homeported in Seattle be shore power capable and utilise shore power.
The order passed by the Port of Seattle Commission takes effect in the 2027 cruise season, three years before the Port’s previous goal of 2030 of universal shore power use.
In October 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the California Air Resources Board (CARB) waiver request for the At-berth ocean-going vessel rule. This regulation represented a first step towards ending fossil-fueled emissions from ships at the ports.
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The Port of Seattle also continues to work in partnership with cruise ports in Alaska, Victoria, BC, and Vancouver, BC, and the cruise industry to explore the world’s first cruise-focused Green Corridor from Seattle to Alaska.
According to the port, plugging into shore power reduces diesel emissions from cruise vessels at berth by 80 per cent on average. During the 2023 season, cruise ships using shore power avoided emitting 2,700 metric tonnes of greenhouse gases and 0.75 metric tonnes of diesel particulate matter — the equivalent of nearly 650 passenger cars driving for a year.
Just recently, the Port of Hamburg became the first port in Europe to offer shore power for both containerships and cruise vessels.