Mary-Louise Hoffman
Siemens has secured an $11.4 million contract to build a power source system for the Altona cruise ship terminal in Hamburg, Germany, to supply electricity to vessels during laytime.
The onshore power system is intended to enable cruise ships to turn off diesel engines as well as reduce harmful emissions while berthed at the Hamburg port, Siemens said Tuesday.
According to the company, the system will have up to 12 megavolt amperes of transformer capacity and includes a mobile robotic arm to compensate for the tidal range while ships are using shorepower.
Siemens and Stemmann Technik designed the robot to also transfer communication links and power cable connectors into ships through an outer hatch.
Commissioning of the self-propelled power system is scheduled to occur in spring 2015.
The European Commission recommends that port authorities develop methods to help ship operators leverage alternative power resources during lay days, according to Siemens.
