By
Rebecca Gibson |
AIDA Cruises, the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the City of Rostock and Rostock Port have agreed to jointly promote environmentally friendly and sustainable cruise shipping in Rostock, Germany.
The ‘declaration of intent’ was signed on 11 September 2018 by Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA; Roland Methling, Lord Mayor of Rostock; and Jens Aurel Scharner, the port's managing director.
According to the agreement, the partners will work together to build a shore power plant for cruise ships at the port of Rostock, which is likely to be operational by 2020. Similar agreements have already been signed in the German cities of Hamburg and Kiel.
“Cruise tourism is of particular significance to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” said Schwesig. “We are proud that so many ships arrive here and that today, Warnemünde is the most important arrival port for cruise ships in Germany. We are signing a joint declaration so that in future cruise ships can be supplied with shoreside power at the Port of Rostock. I am convinced that this is a good step and it is an important contribution towards making cruise tourism more sustainable.”
AIDA has also agreed to retrofit shore power connections on its ships that regularly call at Rostock-Warnemünde. The cruise line will also support the port and the City of Rostock by sponsoring important projects and events. For example, AIDA will be the premium partner for the first Rostock Cruise Festival, which will take place from 14-16 September 2018.
“With our Green Cruising strategy, we are investing billions of euros in a future-proof cruise market – both in the area of sustainable propulsion technologies like the use of LNG or shoreside power, as well as in environmental management onboard,” said Eichhorn. “The partnership that we have sealed today is an important milestone for the further development of sustainable cruise tourism in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and it is an important step for AIDA in achieving emission-free cruising. Together we will continue to expand our long-standing and successful collaboration with the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the City of Rostock, and will be sending out an important signal – not only in Germany but across Europe.”