Holland America Line’s entire fleet is now wired for shore power.
Volendam completed installation in Vancouver, BC, and connected to the port’s shoreside electricity for the first full day last week.
It has been a years-long process.
The cruise line began converting ships for shore power connectivity in 2006 with its four Vista Class ships.
HAL’s Pinnacle Class ships (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam) all were built with shore power systems installed.
Signature Class ships (Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam) were launched with a partial installation that has since been completed.
Shore power reduces emissions and noise in port when a ship is plugged into a dockside source, allowing engines t be switched off.
Holland America Line ships can connect in more than 18 ports worldwide.
A further 25 ports actively are constructing shore power facilities or planning to do so in the future.
Gus Antorcha, HAL president said: “We have committed to reducing our carbon emission intensity 20% by 2030 from our 2019 baseline, and we’re on our way to reaching that goal.”
Ports that HAL ships visit with shore power capability include Juneau, San Francisco, San Diego; Seattle, Halifax, Montreal, Bergen, Shanghai and Xiamen, China.
Next year, the port of Rotterdam is expected to be shore-power ready.
Gus Antorcha has also made strides efforts to significantly reduce non-essential single-use items and plastics.
The company no longer uses plastic soda or water bottles, stir sticks, straws and bags, along with single-use food packets such as ketchup, mustard and salt.
Recyclable glass and aluminum containers are used for water and soda.
Plastic straws have been replaced with biodegradable straws, and plastic cups have been replaced with plant- or paper-based options.
“We’ve made our packaging changes in a thoughtful manner to ensure that we can reduce our footprint,” added Antorcha.
Tags: Gus Antorcha, Holland America Line
