Cavotec enables Europe’s first shore power connection of tanker vessel

The Swedish port of Gävle recently became one of the first in the world to successfully connect a tanker vessel to a shoreside electricity system. The shore power connection solution was provided by Cavotec, based on new standards drawn up in co-operation with other ports and operators, and is set to pave the way for tanker berth operators to reduce emissions and accelerate progress towards decarbonised maritime and energy supply chains.

The test sequence, during which no electrical current was supplied to the vessel, was conducted earlier this year with the Tern Fors, a 15,000-dwt oil and chemical tanker, which has a capacity of 16,500 cubic metres.

“We connected and checked that the cable fits and carried out all the necessary safety checks. The only thing we didn’t do was switch on the power,” Claes Möller, CEO of Tarntank Ship Management, told Swedish maritime news outlet Sjöfartstidningen, (article in Swedish).

Following the successful trial, Tarntank and the Port of Gävle now plan to use the system to connect the Tern Fors to electrical current.

Sweden has long been a leader in shore power, with the technology – again supplied by Cavotec – first being introduced at a passenger ferry berth at the Port of Gothenburg back in the 1980s. In April, Ports of Stockholm announced the successful installation of a next-generation Cavotec shore power connection system at a ferry berth at Kapellskär.

Cavotec has been instrumental in the introduction of ship- and shore-based shore power systems worldwide, including the world’s first such system for use with tanker vessels at the Port of Long Beach. Learn more about Cavotec’s shore power solutions here.