Corsica Linea Ferries Shutting Off Engines in Port of Marseille

French ferry operator Corsica Linea is fitting out its ferries calling Port of Marseille with equipment necessary to use electricity for power at berth.

Instead of running diesel-fueled auxiliary engines while in port, ferries Paglia Orba, Jean Nicoli and Pascal Paoli will receive ABB-delivered power compensation solution Dynacomp, which allows electricity available from the local grid in Marseille to be stepped down to 11KV for shipboard use.

The installation of ABB’s shore connection technology on one of the ferries, Paglia Orba, is already underway, while the two remaining vessels will be connected to shore power in 2020.

“We estimate we will use between 7MWh and 11 MWh of zero-emission power per call, depending on the vessel,” Ludovic Amouroux, Project Manager, Corsica Linea, said.

The undertaking is part of Port of Marseille’s eco-friendly initiative to become the Mediterranean’s first fully electric port by 2025.

The port authority plans to spend EUR 20 million (USD 22 million) over the next six years to extend shoreside electrical connections for berthed vessels to every ferry, cruiseship and repair quay within the Marseille eastern harbor.

Already available on the Corsica ferry quays, the network will be expanded in two phases to cover North Africa ferry quays and the ship repair hub by 2022 and the cruise terminal between 2022 and 2025.