AIDA Cruises’ AIDAsol arrived in Port Louis, Mauritius on Friday, Jan.19, starting the last leg of its world cruise.
Having sailed on October 2023 when it departed from Hamburg, the AIDAsol has so far crossed each of the major oceans once during this world voyage.
Mauritius serves as the last port of transfer for guests on the 2023-24 world cruise.
After leaving Port Louis, the ship will head for Saint-Denis, Reunion, before exploring several ports in South Africa including Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. Other ports of call on the last leg of the journey are Walvis Bay, Namibia; Praia, Cape Verde Islands; Tenerife, Canary Islands; Funchal, Madeira; Lisbon, Portugal; Porto, Portugal; and Portland, England. The ship is scheduled to arrive back in Hamburg on Feb. 21.
In October 2024, the AIDAsol will again embark on a world tour with some destinations in New Zealand that have not previously been visited by AIDA Cruises.
AIDA Cruises has expanded the use of shore power in its fleet, reaching a significant milestone in its decarbonization efforts, according to a press release.
The AIDAsol was recently connected to shore power in nearly all ports during its recent voyage from April 16 to 21, 2023.
The ship was supplied with green energy from shore in Rostock-Warnemünde, Aarhus (Denmark), Kristiansand (Norway), and Hamburg.
The growing shore power infrastructure in Northern Europe has made it possible for AIDA Cruises to achieve this milestone.
AIDA President Felix Eichhorn stated that the company’s goal is to use shore power in all ports where port infrastructure is available. He added that the company’s investments in clean technology are actively supporting the goals of the EU’s “Fit for 55” program to build a corresponding infrastructure in all major EU ports by 2030.
During its recent voyage, AIDAsol made history by being the first cruise ship to conduct shore-side and shipboard integration tests on a newly built facility in Aarhus, Denmark. The official opening of Denmark’s first shore power plant for cruise ships is scheduled for later this year.
The AIDAsol was also supplied with energy from shore during its stop in Kristiansand, Norway, which it already did in 2022.
AIDA Cruises has been investing in sustainable cruising for many years, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral ship operation for its fleet by 2050.
The company has been considering the use of environmentally friendly technology since 2004, and more than ten years have passed since it was able to start the usage of shore power in regular operation with an AIDA ship in Hamburg Altona in 2017. The company signed a memorandum of understanding in April 2022 with Cruise Baltic, a network of 31 ports and destinations, to use shore power in the ports of the Baltic Sea region.
AIDAsol’s arrival in Hamburg, its home port for this year’s summer season, marked another significant moment in AIDA Cruises’ decarbonization efforts. The ship was connected to Europe’s first shore power plant for cruise ships and switched off its main engines shortly after docking at the Cruise Center Altona.
The expansion of the use of shore power is part of AIDA Cruises’ efforts to use low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other alternative energy sources such as batteries and fuel cells. The company is working with various partners to find solutions for the use of regenerative and synthetic fuels.
“AIDA Cruises shows what can already be possible today,” said Eichhorn. “We can only achieve the energy transition together.”
In a cruise industry first, AIDA Cruises marked the beginning of the season with a double call of the AIDAsol and AIDAmar in Rostock-Warnemünde, where the two cruise ships connected simultaneously to shore power, according to a press release.
“We are delighted by this successful shore power premiere in Rostock-Warnemünde. Thanks to the opening of further shore power facilities in European ports, we will be able to expand our commitment this year. Our goal is to be able to use shore power in all ports in the future. We, therefore, welcome the decisions of other ports to develop a corresponding solution. With our commitment to decarbonization, we are not only driving the energy transition in the cruise sector, but we are also providing an example of how to shape local value creation in our destinations sustainably,” said Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises.
The two ships using shore power to supply energy is an important contribution to reducing carbon emissions while ships are docked in port, AIDA said in a press release.
The first shore power facility for cruise ships opened in the Baltic Sea region in 2021 with the AIDAsol in Rostock-Warnemünde during the 12th German National Maritime Conference.
The shore power plant in Warnemünde can supply two ships simultaneously at berths P7 and P8.
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