AIDA Cruises and the Hamburg Port Authority have signed a long-term agreement (LTA) through which AIDA will guarantee ship and passenger volumes for another five years.
With 124 calls in 2023, AIDA is the Port of Hamburg's largest cruise customer and it has also been a major supporter of the Hanseatic city’s energy transition.
The cruise company and the city laid the foundation for sustainable development in Hamburg seven years ago, when Europe’s first shore-side power plant went into operation at the Cruise Centre Altona.
Felix Eichhorn, President AIDA Cruises, commented: ‘We were the first cruise line to start using shore power in Europe. Since 2017 until today, AIDAsol has been regularly purchasing shore power year after year during her calls at Altona. As a long-standing partner of the Port of Hamburg, we are happy to support the Hamburg Port Authority with our experience and expertise in both the shore- and ship-side integration tests and for the opening of the new facility at the Steinwerder cruise terminal.’
Senator for Economic Affairs Dr. Melanie Leonhard added: ‘Hamburg is one of the most popular cruise destinations in Europe and a pioneer in sustainability issues such as the expansion of shore power. Together with AIDA Cruises, we want to further develop our partnership and thus also Hamburg as a cruise location in a sustainable manner.’
AIDA Cruises has been developing the use of shore power in the planning and construction of its ships since 2004. Its ships have been using the Hamburg Altona system for the past six years, and since 2021 AIDA ships have also been able to use shore power from renewable energies in Kiel and Rostock-Warnemünde.
In addition, AIDA vessels are using the shore power facilities which are now in operation in Norway, the United Kingdom and Denmark. The company says it is also ‘actively supporting’ the European Union's goal of establishing a shore power infrastructure in all major EU ports by 2030.
