Mobile and sustainable shore power at the cruise ship terminal in the Port of Rotterdam

What was needed: An environmentally friendly, noise-reducing, fast and efficient power supply for the cruise ships in the port of Rotterdam, regardless of where they docked

Requirements: Mobile shore power connection on the quay, compact movement of the heavy cables over a length of 230 metres

Industry: Shore power supply

Success for the customer: The mobile shore power connection "iMSPO Cruise" moves the cables quickly to any cruise ship dock. Only two people are needed on land and the connection takes less than 15 minutes. The compact design under the quay avoids cables and other equipment lying around in the terminal's working area.

The city of Rotterdam is investing heavily in making the city and harbour area more sustainable. One of the key steps in achieving this was the modernisation of the cruise terminal.

The problem: Diesel engines often continue to run so that ships docked in harbours can continue to be supplied with electricity. CO₂, nitrogen and particulate matter emissions are blown into the air, and the engines also produce high noise emissions. The location of the cruise terminal close to Rotterdam's city centre further exacerbates this problem.

For this reason, ships are increasingly being equipped with the necessary connections and technology to be powered via a shore power connection at the harbour. Precautions must be taken not only on the ship. The harbours themselves must also be equipped with the right infrastructure and technology to supply ships not only reliably, but also quickly and flexibly with shore power.

This is because the berthing position of the ships at the quay is changing: The cruise terminal at the port of Rotterdam is very busy, with many ships of different sizes docking. In addition, the loading hatch for the shore power supply can be located on the port or starboard side. The shore power solution must therefore be flexible to move and be as quick and easy to operate as possible. As people are on the quay around the clock, a technical solution should also be found that is space-saving and avoids cables lying around on the quay as far as possible.

The port of Rotterdam relies on iMSPO Cruise to ensure a flexible shore power supply for cruise ships at the terminal**.**

The "movable socket" enables the rapid availability of a shore power connection for ships along the entire 230 metre length of the terminal. The structure includes a 230 metre long steel trough, which was placed in a one-metre deep trench under the quay. In the trough, all cables for supplying the cruise ships with power run protected in energy chains of the type 5050RHD****. The rol e-chains move the total of 12 CF-CRANE motor cables and various fibre optic and supply cables swiftly to the docked ship. Thanks to the tight bend radii of the cables, space is saved under the quay. They supply the ships with a power output of up to 16MW at 11kV, enough to supply a small town with 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants.

The iMSPO Cruise is moved by remote control in the fully covered shaft with the sockets folded in. Once the connection position has been reached, the shaft lid above the iMSPO is removed and the sockets are raised. The transfer vehicle can now be connected at this point and the ship supplied with power. The entire process can be completed by two people in less than 15 minutes. The iMSPO complies with the standards and machine guidelines of IEC 80005-1. In addition, positioning the system underground also increases safety at the harbour, as there are no cables or other equipment in the way on the quay.

Like the cruise terminal, the shore power system is cooled with water from the Meuse. A separate grid connection with renewable electricity was laid for the system over a length of 1.5 kilometres from Maashaven to Wilhelminakade. As the cruise ships' generators will be switched off at the port of Rotterdam in future, CO₂, nitrogen and particulate matter emissions in the port and city area will also be reduced, air quality will improve and ship noise will be a thing of the past.