Kiel (Port)

Latest news

New shore power facility at the Ostsee Quay

The port of Kiel has completed the final phase of construction on its extensive shore power infrastructure on Sep 6, 2025. With this new expansion, it can now supply up to three cruise ships and four ferries with emission-free electricity at the same time. The port has been providing green shore power to seagoing vessels since 2019, making it a pioneer in Europe. The port of Kiel commissioned its second shore power facility for cruise ships at the Ostsee Quay. Instead of one cruise ship, as was previously the case, the extension to the terminal now allows two cruise ships to be supplied with shore power at the same time. Another cruise ship can use shore power at the Ostuferhafen terminal. The now completed extension is the final component of Kiel's shore power infrastructure, which is now one of the most extensive in the world. The new shore power facility at the Ostsee Quay with a capacity of 16 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11 kV, is an extension of the facility at Ostseekai that has been in operation since 2021 (also 16 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11 kV). This means that during double calls at the cruise terminal, both ships can be supplied with shore power in parallel. ‘In the past and current seasons, there have been several days when both cruise ships wanted to use shore power at the Ostseekai. This sends a strong signal: demand from shipping companies for shore power is extremely high, and we are delighted with the excellent cooperation we have enjoyed here,’ says Claus. Construction of the extension began in November 2024 and was completed on schedule. The partners for the new facility were PowerCon, Siemens, Inros Lackner and Stemmann. The expansion of the shore power infrastructure in Kiel was made possible by funding from the federal government, the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the European Union. The financial assistance from the federal and state governments comes from the Climate and Transformation Fund and the Joint Task for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures (GRW). The port of Kiel worked together with shipping companies from an early stage to introduce shore power. Starting with the daily supply of shore power to Color Line ferries in 2019 and Stena Line ferries in 2021, the port also quickly created shore power infrastructure for cruise ships. In 2021, the AIDAsol became the first cruise ship in Kiel to be supplied with shore power. In close coordination with various shipping companies, technical conversions were carried out step by step on board and integration processes between the ship and the system were implemented. In 2024, the number of uses had already reached 120 cruise ship calls during the season. To date, 24 different cruise ships have used the Kiel facilities for over 270 calls. Despite a supply interruption of several weeks due to the construction phase, the port expects a similar volume of shore power for ferries and cruise ships this year, amounting to approximately 10 million kilowatt hours, as in the previous year. The expansion of the shore power infrastructure was one of the Kiel seaport's priority projects for reducing CO₂ emissions and air/pollutant emissions from ships during berthing times. Following the opening of the first shore power facility at Norwegenkai with a capacity of 4.5 MVA, 50 HZ, 10kV in 2019, a combined facility for supplying cruise ships at Ostseekai (16 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11kV) and ferries at Schwedenkai (5 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11kV) was opened in 2021. In September 2023, a shore power facility was also opened at the freight hub at Ostuferhafen, which connects four berths and has the capacity to supply one cruise ship and up to two ferries. (Combined system 16 MVA & 4.5 MVA, 50/60Hz, 6.6/11kV) With the expansion at Ostseekai, the construction of the shore power infrastructure in Kiel has now been completed. Report with photo: https://www.portofkiel.com/news-reader-en/shore-power-system-completed.html

Port of Kiel and AIDA Cruises are jointly celebrating the 100th cruise ship call this year to be supplied with shore power

The Port of Kiel and AIDA Cruises are jointly celebrating the 100th cruise ship call this year to be supplied with shore power as the 'AIDAnova' docked at the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal on Sep 25, 2024. Dr Dirk Claus, the MD of the Port of Kiel, highlighted that Kiel had defined 100 shore power supplies to cruise ships as its benchmark for this year. Now this goal has been fulfilled ahead of schedule and ahead of the season’s close. Almost 70% of all ocean cruise ship calls handled at Kiel this year will make use of shore power supply. While the majority of supplies conducted in recent years accounted for tests and preparations, Kiel has now achieved 85% of the connections accounting for regular supplies - with just a 15% share remaining for tests of further ships wanting to take shore power. According to the Port of Kiel, ships wanting to take shore power usually need between one and three 'trial calls' for tests and preparations before regular supplies can start. During recent years, 22 ships have passed respective testing at Kiel, and 2024 alone saw another ten ships being integrated. Out of this year's shore power supplies, about one third have taken place at Ostuferhafen which saw its facility going into regular operation this spring. Here, among others MSC Euribia and Costa Diadema receive shore power regularly. Up to and including 2025, the Port of Kiel will have invested €55m into its shore power facilities. The port supplies its customers entirely with 'green shore power' purchased on the spot market according to demand. Out of the 100 cruise ship calls supplied with green shore power this year, Carnival Corporation accounts for 54 - out of which 41 calls are AIDA Cruises ships. Felix Eichhorn, President of AIDA Cruises, outlined the mutually beneficial cooperation between the Port of Kiel and AIDA Cruises commenting that Kiel had recognized the potential of shore power supply early on and made corresponding investments. Eichhorn said the milestone call was the result of joint, collaborative efforts to make cruising more sustainable. German ports - with Kiel at the top – have takn a leading position in onshore power supply for cruise vessels. While shore power is increasingly turning into a standard in Germany's cruise hubs, according to recent CLIA figures, only 35 cruise ports worldwide have the facilities in place to offer shore power at present. Report with photo: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/kiel-celebrates-100th-cruise-ship-supplied-with-shore-power-this-year-as-aidanova-plugs-in-at-ostseekai

Busiest cruise season concluded

The Port of Kiel concluded this year’s cruise season with the call of AIDA Cruises’ AIDAnova on Nov 4. The port welcomed a total of 215 ship calls from 26 companies and a total of 1,174,000 cruise passengers, marking the port’s busiest season ever. “We are closing the 2023 season with a good result. The development in the tourism industry shows a clear trend towards the cruise sector, which was also evident in Kiel this season. “For us, the main issue is to make maritime tourism more environmentally friendly on the port side. Shore power was the dominant topic for us and will continue to be so in the coming season,” said Dirk Claus, managing director of SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. Among the ships that visited the port during 2023 was ​​the 'Disney Dream', the first ship from Disney Cruise Line to be welcomed in Kiel, as well as MSC Cruises’ 'MSC Euribia'. Earlier this year, the port of Kiel achieved a milestone by becoming the first German port to supply a ship with liquidified natural gas. Since then, the' AIDAnova' and 'MSC Euribia' have regularly bunkered LNG in the port of Kiel.