MSC Cruises and Port of Kiel Inaugurate Shore Power Facility

MSC Cruises and Port of Kiel Inaugurate Shore Power Facility

MSC Cruises and the port of Kiel have officially inaugurated the shore power facility at the Ostuferhafen Terminal this weekend during MSC Euribia’s maiden call, according to a statement. 

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Günther and Lord Mayor Ulf Kämpfer as well as port representatives, technical partner Siemens, MSC Euribia’s Captain Christopher Pugh and senior representatives of the cruise line.

Earlier this year, MSC Cruises signed an agreement for its ships to plug into Kiel’s local power grid to supply electricity to hotel operations while at berth and reduce emissions. The ship will call in Kiel 20 times during the summer of 2024.

The MSC Euribia will also use the shore power facility at Hamburg during the winter 2023-24 season in Northern Europe. 

VP Sustainability and ESG at MSC Cruises Linden Coppell: “The inauguration of shoreside power at Kiel’s Ostuferhafen terminal is another step forward on our decarbonization journey.  We expect around 15 new ports between 2024 and 2026 to be added to the list of ports with shore-power facilities that MSC Cruises can use to access the electricity grids in Europe. This further demonstrates our commitment to, and continued progress towards, decarbonization, as well as reducing emissions from our vessels  while berthed in ports.“

 

TUI Adds Second Ship Back Into Service; Doubles Capacity

TUI Cruises is already doubling capacity and spinning up a second ship as the Mein Schiff 1 will restart service at 60 per cent occupancy out of Kiel in August, according to the German cruise company.

This follows the Mein Schiff 2, which resumes service later this month with short cruises from Hamburg.

The Mein Schiff 1 will sail cruises to nowhere (known as "Blue Cruises") from Kiel, offering three- and four-day short sailings.

"This gives guests the opportunity to enjoy the Mein Schiff experience on board with the premium all-inclusive concept and at the same time treat themselves to a break at sea, of course with an adapted and expanded health and safety concept," the company said. "The basis for the resumption of cruise operations is the guiding principles of the responsible authorities, which were developed in coordination with CLIA Germany and the shipping companies as well as in cooperation with experts."

Pricing starts at 599 euro per person for a balcony stateroom. 

Climate Change Activists Delay Cruise Ship in Germany

PHOTO: Holland America Line's Zuiderdam. (photo courtesy of Holland America Line)

Dozens of activists blocked a cruise ship from leaving port in Germany over the weekend.

Holland America Line's Zuiderdam cruise ship was delayed from leaving port in Kiel for several hours on Sunday night.

Newsweek identified the group as "Smash Cruises**t" and reported they used small boats to block the ship. The group also hung a banner that read "cruises kill climate."

"We will no longer allow the Pacific States to sink into the sea because holidaymakers lie in the pool and while they wait to travel from city to city," the group said in a statement via Fox News. "In recent years, we have distributed flyers again and again here at the terminal. However, the Kiel seaport has always tried to limit our freedom of assembly in every conceivable way and prevented us from turning to passengers."

"Now we are obviously in the way and making it clear: We will not tolerate the operation and a further expansion of cruises."

Kreuzfahrtschiffe (k)entern@smashcruiseshit

Some more pictures of #cruiseship-#blockade at the harbour of Kiel. The ship was delayed about 6 hours. For #climatejustice we must stop the whole cruise ship industrie. #smashcruiseshit @NoGrandiNavi

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The cruise line confirmed the incident in a statement.

"Zuiderdam was delayed from departing the port of Kiel, Germany due to demonstration activities in the port," Holland America Line said in a statement. "The ship sailed at 9:55 p.m. local time for Copenhagen, Denmark, as planned and arrived June 10 at 9 a.m., two hours later than originally scheduled. The ship departed Copenhagen June 10 on its regularly scheduled 14-day Northern Isles voyage."

Last week, Carnival Corporation & plc agreed to pay a $20 million penalty as part of a settlement with federal prosecutors after authorities found it was the largest cruise line still polluting oceans.

Port of Kiel chalks up 350th call by an MSC cruise ship

Port of Kiel chalks up 350th call by an MSC cruise ship

The port’s cruise shipping director Nicole Claus welcomed the ship’s captain Guiseppe Galano

MSC Fantasia arrived at the Port of Kiel’s Ostseekai berth from St Petersburg in Russia on 2 September, marking MSC Cruises’ 350th visit to the German port.

To mark the anniversary, the port’s cruise shipping director Nicole Claus welcomed the ship’s captain Guiseppe Galano. Together, Galano and Claus unveiled a bronze plaque on Kiel’s Cruise Ship Walk of Fame, which honours shipping companies and events that are of special significance for Kiel as a cruise shipping location.

MSC’s cruise ships have been regularly calling at the port of Kiel for twelve years, after the first vessel visited on 4 September 2005. The company began using Kiel as a base port in 2006 and since then, the city has been a constituent part of the company’s northern Europe route planning. To date, nine different MSC cruise ships have visited Kiel, while 1.3 million passengers have embarked or disembarked from an MSC cruise ship in the city.

“With 350 visits to the port under its belt, MSC is the cruise shipping company which has been our most frequent caller to date,” said Claus.

MSC Fantasia has already undertaken 18 cruises from Kiel this season. Three more are to follow up to the season finale on 16 September, when the ship heads for the Mediterranean. These northern Europe cruises take guests to Baltic destinations including Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland; St Petersburg. The ship also sails from Kiel to Copenhagen and the Norwegian fjords in Geiranger, Flåm and Stavanger.

MSC and Mein Schiff in the Port of Kiel.

International cruise ship passengers who board in Copenhagen can enjoy day excursions ashore from the port of Kiel into the surrounding region and to the Hanse city of Lübeck and the north German metropolis of Hamburg.

“Because of its geographical location, Kiel is particularly attractive as the starting point for so-called butterfly cruises,” said Claus. “The combination of Baltic and Norwegian routes is a very interesting option.”

This year, Kiel will host 142 calls from 28 different ships, which will bring around half a million cruise ship passengers to the port. In addition, about 1.6 million ferry passengers will pass through the port.