The Port of Kapellskär, part of Ports of Stockholm, has welcomed the new Finnlines vessel equipped with automooring technology using vacuum pads and onshore power connections.
The brand new Finnlines vessel, M/S Finnsirius, which operates on the Kapellskär – Långnäs – Naantali route, now docks using vacuum pads.
The pads can dock and undock the vessel in less than 30 and 15 seconds, respectively.
Automooring with vacuum technology reportedly eliminates the risk of injury, as it is work handling conventional mooring lines, that carries the greatest injury risk during a vessel call. Operative efficiency is also improved as the mooring time is reduced.
The vessels engines can be stopped earlier, which leads to a significant fuel saving and reduced NOx and CO2 emissions, especially when combined with connection to onshore power, according to the port.
M/S Finnsirius also connects to onshore power at Port of Kapellskär using a next generation crane, a PowerReach NxG. The voltage capacity is 11,000 volts, or 11 kilovolt (kV), which delivers power of up to 4 megavolt-amperes (MVA). This is the combined electricity consumption equivalent of 1,000 households.
Connecting to onshore power reportedly enables a significant fuel saving, as the vessel’s auxiliary engines do not need to be used at the quayside. This reduces NOx and CO2 emissions. The work environment is also improved, as the noise levels and vibrations from the vessel are reduced.
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Ports of Stockholm began to provide onshore power connections for vessels in the 1980s and all of its ports are now equipped with onshore power connection facilities.
The facilities for onshore power connection and automated mooring at Port of Kapellskär is partly financed by the EU, within the framework of the EU project “Upgrade of the Baltic sea bridge Kapellskär–Naantali (MoS Finnlink)”. The onshore power connection project also has funding from the Swedish national Climate Leap investment project.
“Together with Finnlines, we have planned and updated Port of Kapellskär with brand new technology before the brand new Finnlines vessel arrived,” said Johan Wallén, Chief Commercial Officer at Ports of Stockholm.
“Automooring using vacuum technology improves sustainability by providing a safer working environment and reduced environmental impact,” added Wallén.
Earlier this summer, a feasibility study funded by the Swedish Energy Agency to construct a logistics hub for collected carbon dioxide at Stockholm Norvik Port commenced.
More recently, Ports of Stockholm took an investment decision to increase the company’s production of solar electricity by 55 per cent.
