Premiere in Rotterdam: First shore power plant for cruise ships in the Netherlands goes into operation with AIDAnova

Published: 2025-03-31 10:42:06 ET CCL

Premiere in Rotterdam: First shore power plant for cruise ships

in the Netherlands goes into operation with AIDAnova

Today, March 31, 2025, the first shore power plant for cruise ships in the Netherlands was officially launched. AIDAnova is the first ship to be successfully supplied with energy from shore during its stay in port. With this commissioning, AIDA Cruises can now use shore power in 13 European ports in seven countries. In Rotterdam alone, a further 31 calls are planned for this year, where AIDA ships can now be supplied with shore-side power.

Dirk Inger, SVP Public Affairs, Communication & Sustainability at AIDA Cruises stated: "Together with our local partners, we have developed Rotterdam into a popular year-round destination for our guests over the past few years. Therefore, we are pleased that we can now switch off the main engines of our AIDA ships and use shore power during our calls here in Rotterdam. The new shore power plant is another step for all of us in reducing greenhouse gas emissions." He added: "Twenty years ago, we began considering the use of shore-side electricity to reduce emissions from ship operations. In 2017, AIDA was the first cruise line in Europe to start using shore power. We are looking forward to supporting other ports as their pilot partner in commissioning their facilities in the coming months."

In 2024 alone, AIDA used shore power during 360 port calls - a five-fold increase compared to 2023. More than 500 calls in European ports with shore power are planned for 2025. The new installation in Rotterdam expands the reach of this technology in Northern Europe. AIDA ships will be able to use shore power for almost every second port call in Northern Europe this year, thus contributing to the implementation of the maritime energy transition in shipping.

AIDA Cruises was closely involved as a pilot partner in the technical preparations in the run-up to the opening and made its ships available for various tests. The company's experience from many years of using shore power in other European ports - including Hamburg, Kiel, Warnemünde, Bergen, Southampton, Aarhus, Oslo and Stockholm - also contributed to the preparations.

Since 2004, AIDA Cruises has been considering the use of shore power in the construction of its ships. In 2017, AIDAsol was the first cruise ship to start regular operations at Europe's first shore power plant in Hamburg-Altona. Following Rotterdam, other ports like Copenhagen or Le Havre planning to put systems into operation soon. AIDA Cruises actively supports these ports as well.

AIDA Cruises has been investing for many years in a more sustainable cruise market. In addition to shore power and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a bridging technology, the company is expanding the use of alternative energy sources for the operation of its cruise ships. In 2022, for example, AIDA Cruises began using biofuels and installed the currently largest maritime battery storage system on board an AIDA ship. AIDA Cruises is aspiring for net-zero emissions in ship operations of its fleet by 2050.

Rostock, March 31, 2025

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Carnival plc published this content on March 31, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via , unedited and unaltered, on March 31, 2025 at 14:41 UTC.