The electrical connection of cruise ships is accelerating in Marseille

This "first in France", according to the Minister of Transport who came to inaugurate the system on Saturday, should make "cruise tourism more environmentally friendly, and generate less nuisance for our territories".

In Marseille, France's leading cruise port, three cruise ships will therefore be able to connect to the electrical grid during their stopover, receive 16 MW each - the equivalent of a city of 13.000 inhabitants - and thus "turn off the engine".

"Cruise companies coming to Marseille know that there is a social phenomenon of rejection of large ships with their large black smoke," Laurent Martens, general delegate of Armateurs de France, a professional organization in the sector, told AFP, and shore power will allow them to improve their image.

For Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, it is also a question of sovereignty, at a time when the war in the Middle East reminds us of "the cost of our dependence on imported fossil fuels".

The energy supplied by the electrical terminals in the port of Marseille is 100% renewable, generated by photovoltaic panels.

On Friday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu presented initial measures aimed at "accelerating" electrification in transport and housing to reduce dependence on gas or oil.

Four-year advance

The port, which welcomes 4 million passengers a year, boasts a decisive step in its "Zero Smoke Stopover" plan, "four years ahead of European regulations", which will require by 2030 that 90% of passenger ship and container ship calls be able to use shore power.

Fanny Pointet, a maritime transport specialist at the NGO Transport & Environment, acknowledges this advance on the European timetable.

"The shore power connection allows for a substantial reduction in air pollution from ships at berth, but this resumes when the ship resumes its journey," she explained to AFP.

Indeed, entering and leaving the port generates high emissions of pollutants. "If we look at all the emissions of a cruise ship, connecting to shore power only reduces 6%, so considering the overall impact of this activity, it's not much," she points out.

For those living near the port, however, electrification will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from maritime transport in Marseille by 28%, according to the air quality monitoring organization AtmoSud.

But "we will then have to monitor the effectiveness of this connection, that is to say to what extent it is used in practice," insists Damien Piga, of AtmoSud.

Equipping a boat for electrical connectivity costs between 500.000 and one million euros, and nothing currently compels them to prefer plugging in rather than using diesel, "which they have at a preferential rate," recalls a spokesperson for Stop Croisières.

"While we have energy sovereignty issues, financing such quantities of electricity to heat swimming pools and cool air conditioners is incomprehensible," she argues, believing that public money should be invested "primarily in freight."

The electrical connection of cruise ships, financed by the EU, the State and local authorities, required more than two years of work and a total of 210 million euros.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.