The expedition ship “Hanseatic Nature” is allowed to plug into the power socket while in port in Kiel. This has now been confirmed by the classification society DNV.
The shipping company announced that the “Hanseatic Nature” from the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises fleet used green shore power during its last call in Kiel. At the same time, DNV conducted a series of technical tests to ensure trouble-free use and compatibility[ds_preview].
Now that all tests have been successfully completed, the “Hanseatic Nature” is ready to use shore power. From now on, the expedition ship can use shore power wherever it is available worldwide. Prior to this, a test phase was carried out during previous calls with berthing time at a shore power terminal. The data will now be transferred to the identical sister ships “Hanseatic Inspiration” and “Hanseatic Spirit”, with the aim of also having these accepted this year.
According to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, switching to the shore connection is a complex process. The small expedition ship “Hanseatic Nature,” the first of the cruise line’s completely modernised new expedition class to enter service, requires a voltage of 690 volts in port. This is significantly lower than on many larger ships, which is why a transformer on board reduces the power. The ship’s safety when using the shore power system is only guaranteed after inspection by DNV’s technical expert.
DNV also inspects sister ships
The identical sister ships “Hanseatic Inspiration” and “Hanseatic Spirit” benefit from the data storage. It is planned to complete their inspection this year. According to the shipping company, the majority of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ ships, namely four out of five, will then be able to use shore power, provided it is available at the respective berths.
This is expected to apply to the “Hanseatic Inspiration” from June. It will then dock in Bergen, Norway. The “Hanseatic Spirit”, currently underway in New Zealand, will set course for the South Seas, Micronesia, the Philippines, Japan, as well as Alaska over the course of the year. In August, she will sail through the legendary Northwest Passage before arriving in Hamburg at the beginning of October. Inspection by DNV will not be possible until then at the earliest, as there are currently fewer than 30 shore power facilities worldwide. These are located in selected ports in the USA, Canada, China, and Europe, which are often far from the exotic routes of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ new expedition ships, the company adds.
