Zinus Develops New Shore Power Solution for Cruise Ships

The Norwegian company Havnekraft has awarded Zinus a contract to develop and deliver a new and flexible shore power solution for cruise ships calling at Haugesund Cruise Port. Several international ports are also showing great interest in the solution.

For several years, Zinus has offered the Shore Power Cruiser – a mobile and flexible system for transmitting high-voltage shore power to cruise ships and other large vessels. The company is now taking the technology one step further, in line with a recent contract with Havnekraft AS in Haugesund, Norway – a company owned by Karmsund Port Authorities and the energy company Haugaland Kraft.

“Havnekraft wants to offer shore power to cruise ships calling at Garpeskjærskaien in Haugesund and has given Zinus the task of developing the next generation shore power connection for this type of vessel. The new system will be an 'all-in-one solution' that focuses on fast connection, easy user operation and reduced operating costs. The product must also be able to manage large power variations and give Havnekraft a high degree of flexibility,” said Ronny Olson, sales director at Zinus.

Tine Osmundsen, chairman of Havnekraft, noted the Zinus concept “means that we can remove the cable handling unit when it is not in use, which provides good utilization of the quay also between cruise calls and outside the cruise season.”

So far, Karmsund Port Authorities has booked 120 cruise calls in 2022, and around 90% of these ships can receive shore power. The goal is to sell up to nine million kilowatt-hours of electricity during an ordinary season. This will result in a reduction in CO2 emissions of around 2,500 tonnes per season, compared to if the ships are running their diesel generators while docked.

In addition to the climate and environmental benefits the port achieves with shore power from Zinus, Havnekraft also gets an extra advantage from the short distance between Haugesund and Zinus’ technology environment at Bømlo.

“The close proximity means that the customer can be close to the development work in our R&D team, that they get to buy local and sustainable products, and that they are guaranteed an extra short response time throughout the product's lifetime,” Olson said.

He added, “several international ports have already shown great interest in our new cruise solution and await taking a closer look at the product when the first delivery is installed in Haugesund.”