Portsmouth Port Chargers

Last Updated: September 18, 2023

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Portsmouth International Port has plans for a huge upgrade which will help improve the air quality, and reduce the emissions of ships operating out of the port.

Connecting to National Grid

Three berths in the port will allow docked ships to connect directly to the national grid, allowing them to power down their combustion engines. The obvious benefit of this is a reduction in the CO2 emissions from the engines by “20,000 tonnes” [1] (providing the energy from the grid is sourced from renewable energy).

Figure 1: Cruise Ship.

CO2 Reduction

The other main benefit of the government-funded project is alongside the reduction in CO2, is that there would also be a significant reduction in the emission of Sulphur Dioxide. Sulpher Dioxide is a by-product of heavy fuel, a cheap fuel commonly used by ships [2]. This will lead to an improvement in air quality for dock workers and local residents.

The project is a big step towards a net zero maritime industry in the UK, an industry which is a huge part of the UK’s, and the world’s, economy and is currently heavily reliant on fossil fuels to power the lengthy trips ships make. This project goes hand in hand with the new hybrid ships set to sail in 2025 by Brittany Ferries. [3]

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References

[1] Josh Wright, “Portsmouth to introduce port shore power system”, BBC News, 8 September 2023.
(Online) Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-66767987 [Accessed 14 September 2023].

[2] “What Fuel Do Cargo Ships Use”, Maritime Page.
(Online) Available: https://maritimepage.com/what-fuel-do-cargo-ships-use/ [Accessed 14 September 2023].

[3] https://portsmouth-port.co.uk/news/a-green-revolution-begins-at-portsmouths-port/

Figure 1: Nestor Pool, unsplash.com, 23 November 2018. (Online) Available: https://unsplash.com/photos/zk0cIAkg4Wg [Accessed 14 September 2023]