North Sea Port inaugurates sustainable jetty with shore power
North Sea Port has inaugurated a new shore power jetty at the head of the Grootdok in Ghent on Thursday. River cruises calling at the city will now have to moor there and use shore power, reducing CO2 emissions.
The jetty is 85m long and 6m wide and has four mooring posts for safe berthing. It also has four shore power plugs. Thanks to the shore power, cruise ships no longer need to run their diesel engines in port, significantly reducing emissions of CO2, particulates, nitrogen and sulphur.
The North Sea port is aiming to strengthen its position as a sustainable port in Europe. A maximum of four vessels can berth at the same time. For every barge that uses shore power, 1.2 tonnes of CO2 will be saved.
Reduced pollution
"This is a logical investment to fulfil our sustainable ambitions," said port alderman Sofie Bracke on Thursday. "With this, we avoid 500 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year and reduce noise pollution from running generators."
Cas König, who was appointed as North Sea Port's new CEO earlier this week, said sustainability was the port's biggest challenge. North Sea Port aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.
"This is a logical investment to fulfil our sustainable ambitions"
The overall impact of the new jetty is limited, as river cruise tourism plays a very modest role in Ghent's tourism. "The share of river cruises in the total number of tourists in Ghent is less than 1 per cent," said Bracke. "On an annual basis, it is around 55,000 tourists."
Nevertheless, Ghent remains an attractive destination for these travellers. "They call at several cities in Belgium and the Netherlands and usually stay in Ghent for a short time, but interest is still growing," she said.
The jetty, which cost around 2.7 million euros, was partly financed by European and Flemish subsidies.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO JONAS DHOLLANDER
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