EMEA News
Baltic Ports to Sign MoU for Common Approach to Shore Power
The Baltic Ports Organization (BPO) Tuesday announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed to support the ports of Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallinn, and Turku's collective goal for a common approach for on-shore power supply (OPS).
The agreement, which will be signed at the Baltic Ports Conference 2016, is said to support the ports' aim of providing newly built connections with a voltage of 11 kV and a frequency of 50 Hz.
Further, the MoU will be intended to encourage other ports and shipping companies to follow the initiative and recommendations concerning onshore power supply, says BPO, adding that minimising negative effects on the environment of port operations and shipping in the Baltic Sea will be another aim of the agreement.
BPO notes that cooperation agreements between the four ports have been signed in the past during the period between 2009-2014.
Within those agreements, the ports agreed to work together to ensure electricity connections for vessels use a unified technical format.
In April, Ship & Bunker reported that BPO had received approval from the European Union's Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) Seed Money Facility, as well as a €46,140 ($52,547) grant from the EU, for its Green InfraPort project, set to see the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering infrastructure and scrubber waste reception facilities at Baltic ports.
