Aimed at making the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) a Green Terminal, the Dubai Port World that operates the terminal has initiated steps to provide power from shore to the vessels calling at Kochi.
Setting a model for other ports in the country and going by the guidelines of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) authorities had provided onshore power supply system at the port on an experimental basis in January this year, which has proved to be a success.
The concept of shore power is that ships berthed at the port will be provided electricity from the shore till it leaves the port. The air pollution can also be controlled to a great extent through this initiative.
A shipping company which used the facility had informed the Cochin Port authorities that they could save `60,000 per day by using power supplied from shore. “As a step towards providing the facility, we have initiated a survey among the shipping lines. Since the mechanical and electric specification of ships will be different from one another, such a study is essential before we make the facility operational,” said DP World Cochin Chief Executive Officer K K Krishnadas.
Unlike the naval vessels, commercial ships usually do not have a longer stay at ports and they work on the power generated internally through diesel-powered generators (auxiliary engines). The estimated number of merchant vessels across the globe comes to around 50,000 and they use around 411,223,484 tonnes of fuel annually.
Studies show that a single ship can produce emissions equivalent to that of 50 million cars annually. This has prompted the IMO to carry out research on using cheaper forms of fuel.