Project findings, Opportunities, Risks and Threats of Onshore Power Supply (OPS) in ports-The case of Heraklion port”
With the completion of the “Electriport” project coming to an end, the Heraklion Port Authority, as the lead partner of the project, as well as the other partners Wartsila Hellas, Premium Consulting, Business Development & Consulting, BMG Marine – Electromechanical Engineers, Hellenic Mediterranean University (ELMEPA), ANELIXIS Development Consultants S.A. E, MSI Hellas Port Facilities Safety Company and National Technical University of Athens, presented the pioneering project co-funded by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union, which concerns the design of installations for the supply of electricity to ships during their stay in port, thus significantly reducing the emission of pollutants.
The development of the Electriport project has been driven by the Commission’s “Fuel EU Maritime” proposal which states the requirement to electrify passenger ships as well as container ships in European ports by 2030.
The conference was opened by the General Secretary of the Greek Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy, Mr. Manolis Koutoulakis, who welcomed the Management of the Heraklion Port Authority, the representatives of the project partners and all those present. Then the speech was given by Mrs. Isabelle Ryckbost, General Secretary of the European Sea Ports Organisation, Mr. Dimitris Iatridis, Executive Director of the Hellenic Ports Association and Mrs. Marie-Caroline Laurent, Director General of CLIA.
Then the CEO of HPA SA, Mr. Minas Papadakis, in his presentation-speech on “Introduction to “Electriport” – A comprehensive approach”, referred to the contribution of ports in addressing climate change and stressed that the strategies for the “smart” port of the future are taking shape at the Port of Heraklion. The development of an integrated cold ironing system at the Port of Heraklion while exploring the use of renewable energy sources is dramatically changing the port’s environmental footprint. The implementation and installation of cold ironing at the Port of Heraklion upgrades and modernizes the port facilities. This will increase the competitiveness of the port of Heraklion, attracting investment capital, and the resale of electricity will not only be of economic benefit to the Agency but also to the ships being supplied. Despite any problems and difficulties, the timing of the implementation of this project is excellent, due to the interconnection of Crete with the electricity grid of mainland Greece, which makes the development of cold ironing facilities in the port of Heraklion viable and technically feasible.
The institutional aspects of the Onshore Power Supply (OPS) were referred to by Mr. Avranas Antonios, the representative of Wartsila, Mr.Moraitakis Ioannis, referred to the technical aspects of the Onshore Power Supply and the port-ship interconnection, while Mr.Karapidakis stressed the importance of investments and infrastructure in the implementation of the Onshore Power Supply. From Premium Consulting, Dr. Marina Maniati and Dr. Manolis Nicolaides presented the economic and technical approach of the project and demonstrated the parameters on which the viability of the project depends both for the port and for the users of the new service (shipowners). The econometric approach analysed the new role of the port as an energy provider and examined the impact on three different types of ships, cruise ships, cargo ships and passenger/car carriers for which the investment costs and the financial gap for shipowners based on current energy prices were presented in detail.
The security assessment of the Electriport project’s installation systems was presented by Professor N. Nikitakos, Professor of the Aegean University of Shipping and Business Services, stating that the installation of shore power for ships will bring about significant changes in the security of the port of Heraklion. He stressed that as far as physical security is concerned, the existing ISPS plan should be amended to provide for additional measures at the points where the electrification devices are to be installed. The measures will be relevant and differentiated in all 3 safety situations. Quite important, due to the significant technological developments, is the preparation of a cyber security study both for IT (Information Technology – information systems) and OT (Operation Technology – PLCs, SCADA etc.) systems. An appropriate study is required to identify and manage security risks arising from the above systems.
The Workshop, which was moderated by the renowned journalist Minas Tsamopoulos, created an interactive platform for dialogue and exchange of know-how where the technical limitations, the effectiveness of the installation in the port of Heraklion as well as the feasibility and effectiveness of the whole project were thoroughly examined. Dimensions such as the economic aspect, the overall socio-economic benefit for the city of Heraklion, resulting from the reduction of pollutants emitted, were elaborated, with emphasis on the environmental adaptation taking place in the city-port of Heraklion, Crete and in general, the final results reflected as many views and aspects as possible on Cold Ironing.
