By
Alex Smith |
Tallink Grupp’s Silja Europa and Baltic Queen have switched to using shore power at the Port of Tallinn’s Old City Harbour during their port stays, reducing carbon dioxide emissions from each vessel by an estimated 100 tonnes per month.
Tallink Grupp has invested €3 million ($3.56 million) to install shore power systems onboard its five passenger ferries. The company plans to equip all 12 of its vessels with shore power systems in conjunction with the Port of Tallink’s growing capacity, amounting to a total investment of €6 million ($7.12 million).
“Today, our vessels can connect to shore power in three of our homeports around the Baltic Sea who are contributing to creating a cleaner urban environment – Tallinn, Stockholm and Port of Helsinki South Harbour,“ said Tarvi-Carlos Tuulik, head of ship management at Tallink Grupp. “Now we can connect already three of our vessels for a greener stay in Port of Tallinn simultaneously.”
Last year, the Port of Tallinn installed the shore power systems on five of its piers in the Old City Harbour in an investment of €3.5 million ($4.16 million), co-financed by the European Union through its TWIN-PORT III programme. The shore power solution was built by AS Elero, with equipment and automation of the substation provided by ABB Power Grids Estonia. ABB engineers also helped to develop ship navigation system to make Tallink's ships shore power capable.
“Tallinn Old City Harbour is one of the busiest ports in Europe,“ said Taavi Tilk, head of energy department at the Port of Tallinn. “Switching to renewable energy and creating shore power capacity for the Port of Tallinn is a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of ship traffic on the environment, towards a cleaner Baltic Sea and urban space. Residents and visitors of Tallinn alike can now enjoy cleaner city air and the noise from the ships’ engines is greatly reduced.“