Seattle boosts power at ports
SEATTLE – Seattle is inviting more cruise ships to plug into its electric grid and shut off their engines, hoping to cut about 30 percent of the air pollution created by the big ships as they load passengers for Alaska cruises.
Seattle has two electric berths for cruise ships, but environmentalists point out that still leaves plenty of diesel-powered ships to belch more than a ton of pollution every time they’re in town.
“We’re encouraged that the port is considering increasing the number of shoreside hook-ups,” said Teri Shore of the Bluewater Network, a San Francisco group that fights cruise-ship pollution. “But that is not going to get them off the hook for increased emissions to surrounding communities. They still need to do more.”
Princess Cruises started plugging two of its ships, the Diamond Princess and the Sapphire Princess, into city power last year. Holland America Line will do the same with two of its three Seattle-based ships this season, at $1 million per ship to install new electrical equipment plus $1.8 million to install hardware on shore. The company is paying most of the cost.
“I think the fact that we’re the first cruise port, to our knowledge, in the world that has two berths with shore power available speaks for itself,” said Mick Shultz, a Port of Seattle spokesman. “I think this shows the cruise industry and the port are eager to reduce their emissions.”
Juneau, Alaska, began plugging in Princess Cruises ships into a berth there in 2001.
The addition of Holland America Line ships to the program means that at least 30 percent of the 200 cruise-ship visits this year will use electricity while in port, Shultz said.
Port officials also promise to use similar plug-in technology at Pier 91, at the north end of Elliott Bay near Magnolia, if the port decides to dock some of the cruise ships there.
Diesel engines, such as the ones that power many cruise ships, are a major source of air pollution.
The cruise ships, which can accommodate thousands of people, typically rely on their diesel-powered engines to produce electricity even while docked. On the West Coast, cruise ships typically use fuel with 2.4 percent sulfur, and that sends up as much as 2.5 tons of pollutants in an eight-hour stay in port, the Port of Seattle estimates.
Next year, the port will start requiring the ships that don’t plug into the grid to use fuel with a 1.5-percent sulfur content while in Seattle.
The Bluewater Network believes the port should imitate California, which in 2007 will require ships to use fuel that usually contains less than 0.5 percent sulfur while in state waters. That fuel is roughly double the price.
Port officials expressed frustration with the Bluewater Network and said Seattle doesn’t have the same air problems that California does.
“I guess the question is, how good is good enough?” Shultz said. “Environmental advocates are always going to want more. But we’re making moves in the right direction. And we and our customers are doing what we can.”