MSC Cruises has announced that it utilized shore power in New York when the MSC Meraviglia connected at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on October 26.
MSC said in a press release that the connection enabled the MSC Meraviglia to switch off engines to eliminate local emissions while in port.
Michele Francioni, chief energy transition officer at MSC Cruises, said: “The availability of shore power at ports is one very important element of our continued commitment and progress towards decarbonization, and we are proud and honored that we can add New York to our journey towards net zero emissions.”
Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation, added: “NYCEDC is making crucial investments from shore power upgrades at BCT and the recently approved Brooklyn Marine Terminal project to the forthcoming Manhattan Cruise Terminal master plan, ensuring the future of the cruise industry in New York City is sustainable, efficient and economically competitive.”
“MSC Cruises’ shore power connection, and the connections of Cunard and Princess cruise ships in recent months, deliver on years of community feedback and mark a major step in electrifying New York’s waterfront,” added Kimball.
MSC said that it has fitted shore power capability as standard on all new ships since 2017 and is working to retrofit other vessels in its fleet. Currently, 16 of its 23 ships are equipped with shore power, which will increase to 17 by the end of the year.
The group’s Cruise Division last month celebrated a year of shore power at the Mediterranean port of Valletta, Malta, when the MSC World Europa connected to the local electricity grid for 300 hours over 12 months.
Explora Journeys connected the next day for the first time in Malta when the Explora II received shoreside power.
The MSC Seaview recently tested a new shore power facility at the port of La Spezia, Italy, and the MSC Poesia trialed a new landside port plug-in capability at Le Havre, northern France.
MSC Cruises’ first use of shore power in the United States occurred in April 2025 when the MSC World America plugged into the local electricity grid while docked at the company’s terminal in PortMiami.
MSC Cruises added that in 2024, it connected to shore power in 13 ports and made 142 successful connections, more than triple the number undertaken in the previous year.
