The cost of installing shore power would be prohibitive at this time.
During a recent interview with Cruise Industry News, Port Canaveral CEO John Murray revealed that installing shore power at the port is not planned for any time in the future.
Murray said, “We have gotten some quotes, and all appearances are, unless someone wants to pay for it, it will be nearly impossible to do a shore power installation at every terminal. It’s hugely expensive.” Murray offered another solution, “Instead of investing in shore power, bring us your LNG ships.”
In 2021, Port Canaveral became the first U.S. port to offer an LNG refilling barge. The use of LNG as a fuel is emerging as a solution to reducing carbon emissions, and in the next two years, there will be 24 new LNG-powered ships delivered throughout the industry.
Murray also spoke of the rising popularity of the port, saying, “We started this year with 32 percent more passenger capacity in Port Canaveral than we had in our best year ever in 2019. “We have 11 homeported ships, and next season we will be at 13. It’s back to normal, but we have tremendous upside … we have more ships and larger ships.”
Murray also explained that improvements to Terminal 5 for the news Disney Wish arriving in mid-June also allowed the Mariner of the Seas to find a new home. He said, “it was built for ships less than 1,000 feet. We ended up putting in a new mooring dolphin and bollards, which is allowing Royal Caribbean to move the Mariner of the Seas there next week.
“Through the winter season, we have another Royal Caribbean ship coming in, plus the Norwegian Prima operating from there; we’re excited to have two ships operating from a facility we deemed obsolete a few years ago.
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