Greenest port

Shore supply is a very new technology that enables ships to power up and run their generators from the port side. ‘Usually,’ explains former sea-farer and now Ystad Harbour’s maintenance and project manager Per Sjogren, ‘vessels berthing in the port keep their auxiliary diesel engines running. The port itself is very close to the vibrant city and noise was always one issue. The smell and emissions have been an even greater concern, especially as Ystad aims to be the greenest port in the country. By delivering the preliminary study and design and tender documents throughout the whole project, Grontmij contributed to reaching our goal.’

Positive climate impacts

The shipping business tends to be a conservative industry and the idea of shore supply is very new. One of Grontmij’s challenges was to help Ystad Port convince the shipping companies to convert to shore supply. It is not just a new technology, it also requires considerable financial investment by operators for each vessel. ‘But,’ commented Sweden’s Environment Minister when opening the HVSC facility, ‘large diesel engines are a major source of both long- and short-lived greenhouse gases and in shipping, we’re talking about huge volumes. Through this shore-supply innovation, we will quickly see positive impacts on the whole regional climate. Ystad is a pioneer.’ Ystad has already been recognised for its innovation and was awarded the prestigious Sjöfartsforum Diploma at World Maritime Day in Gothenburg at the end of September this year.

Environmental optimisation

For Grontmij, the introduction of shore supply is part of the sustainability by design corporate mission. ‘Solutions of this kind are key to our environmental commitment,’ confirms Grontmij Sweden’s Rolf Hansson, business unit manager for Electrical and Telecoms Engineering. ‘We see shore supply as a tool to environmentally optimise more ports both in Sweden and across the Baltic, also as part of our own business focus on helping clients manage energy consumption. The new HVSC is a flexible system and will be a real contribution to reducing both noise and emissions.’ Grontmij is already working on a similar system for Trelleborg Port in Sweden.

*) 18-12-2012 - 14.00 hours: Erroneously we mentioned in our publication at 12.00 hours a project fee of € 107,000 million. This has been adapted to around € 100,000 at 12.05 hours.