The Port of Kiel has reached a new milestone in shore power usage, with cruise ships utilizing the system 100 times this year, according to a press release.

This record was reached on Wednesday with the connection of the AIDAnova, a regular visitor to Kiel.

AIDA has been the primary user of shore power in Kiel, connecting 41 times in 2024, according to a statement.

The cruise line advocated for the facility’s construction in 2018 and signed an agreement with the City of Kiel, the state government, and the port to install the shore power connection. The facility was officially inaugurated by the AIDAsol in the summer of 2021.

“At the beginning of the year, our declared goal was to connect one hundred cruise ships and we are very pleased that we have now achieved this before the end of the season,” said Dr. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of Seehafen Kiel GmbH & Co. KG.

“While half of the connections last year were still for technical preparation tests, 85 percent of the connections are now pure standard supply. This makes it clear that the development of a shore-based power supply for seagoing vessels into a standardized technology can work. Particularly in view of the national environmental targets in the maritime sector, we can say: Kiel is well prepared and our shore power strategy of recent years is paying off. By 2025, we will have invested around 55 million euros in our plants.”

Felix Eihorn, president of AIDA Cruises, said: “Together with the Port of Kiel, we have worked intensively on the shore power strategy over many years and have achieved continuous progress. The Port of Kiel recognized the potential of shore-side power supply early on and made corresponding investments. The milestone achieved today is the result of our joint efforts as partners to make cruise shipping more sustainable.

“Our AIDA ships already use shore power in all German ports. Our clear goal is to use this technology in all Baltic Sea ports as well,” added Eihorn. We call at more than 20 ports in this region alone. It is not yet possible to use this technology on a broad scale. We have already made the necessary ship-side investments. Now, together with the ports, we are actively driving forward the further expansion of the relevant port infrastructure, thereby supporting the European Union’s goal of making shore power available in all major European ports by 2030,” said AIDA President Felix Eichhorn.

In addition to companies like AIDA, TUI, MSC and Costa, vessels from Hapag-Lloyd, Holland America Line and Phoenix Reisen also utilize the shore power facilities at the Port of Kiel. A third of the 100 connections have been made through the newly constructed facility at Ostuferhafen, which began regular operations this year and now consistently supplies shore power to the MSC Euribia and Costa Diadema.