Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Port Authority sign shore power agreement
09 Jul 2026 10:00 Environment
Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest container shipping company, has signed an agreement with Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) for the use of shore power. The agreement covers shore power supply at all terminals.
In future, Hapag-Lloyd will make use of the available shore power infrastructure whenever suitable vessel calls are made at the Port of Hamburg. The vessels Al Muraykh and Tihama, operating on the Asia–North Europe NE2 service, have already successfully drawn shore power during their port calls in Hamburg.
For many years, Hamburg has played a pioneering role in the use of shore power within the maritime sector. The city's experience with the technology began with the construction of a shore power facility at the Cruise Centre Altona. Since 2016, it has reliably supplied cruise ships with electricity from the public grid and has proven its effectiveness in day-to-day operations.
In May 2024, Hamburg marked another milestone with the commissioning of its first shore power facility for container vessels at the Container Terminal Hamburg (CTH), paving the way for the wider adoption of the technology in container shipping. Since then, both HPA and the shipping lines have gained extensive operational experience.
Dr Melanie Leonhard, Senator for Economic Affairs, Labour and Innovation, said: “The use of shore power contributes to improved air quality in the Port of Hamburg and brings us closer to our goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2040. Hamburg has led the way by providing the necessary infrastructure, and shipping companies are now following suit by taking responsibility and making use of the technology with suitable vessels. Together with the market, we will continue to develop this technology until it becomes standard practice. Our partners around the world benefit from the expertise of the Port of Hamburg.”
Jens Meier, CEO of Hamburg Port Authority, said: “In addition to Hapag-Lloyd, we have now reached formal agreements with numerous container shipping companies – including CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, Maersk, MSC and ONE – as well as cruise operators including AIDA & Costa, Crystal Cruises, Cunard, Fred. Olsen, MSC, Mystic, NCL, Phoenix, P&O, Princess and TUI. These agreements underline our customers’ clear commitment to adopting and expanding the use of this technology. Together, we are sending a strong signal in support of a sustainable and future-oriented maritime industry.”
Rolf Habben Jansen, Chief Executive Officer of Hapag-Lloyd AG, said: “Shore power is an important building block on our journey towards lower-emission port operations and our ambition to achieve net-zero fleet emissions by 2045. All of our newbuild vessels are already equipped to use shore power, and we are progressively retrofitting suitable ships within our existing fleet. Wherever the infrastructure is available and operationally viable, we will make use of shore power. Hamburg demonstrates how investment in lower-emission shipping can be translated into practical application.”
The use of shore power significantly reduces vessel emissions while ships are berthed in port. Once connected to the shore power system, vessels can meet their substantial electricity demand from the public grid, drawing power generated from renewable energy sources.
All three of Hamburg’s cruise terminals, as well as the deep-sea berths at the container terminals, are now equipped with shore power facilities. In line with current plans, all major berths in the Port of Hamburg are to be equipped with demand-based shore power infrastructure by 2030.
