On Monday, June 17, 2024, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced PortMiami is shore power ready! Shore power will allow cruise ships to turn off their engines and plug into land power while docked allowing the vessel to have electricity for lights, operating equipment and more while reducing emissions, pollution, and noise.
Mayor Cava said, “As Mayor, I vowed to protect our environment; shore power has been my personal dream and initiative. We embarked on this journey in 2021, thanks to an innovative partnership with our major cruise line partners and Florida Power & Light Company. Shore power is a great example of progress in tourism and clean energy converging. Together, we are creating jobs, expanding our economy, and preparing to meet the dynamic needs of tomorrow.”
The partnership between Miami-Dade County, Carnival Corporation & plc, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Royal Caribbean Group, Virgin Voyages, and Florida Power & Light Company makes PortMiami the first major U.S. Eastern seaboard cruise port to offer shore power at five of its cruise berths.
Carnival Corporation’s Carnival Conquest was the first cruise ship to utilize PortMiami’s shore power at the celebratory event. This follows Carnival Corporation achieving its 2030 shore power goal seven years ahead of schedule. 67% of the company’s fleet is shore power capable–twice as many ships are able to plug in as there are ports providing shore power.
President of Carnival Cruise Line Christine Duffy stated, “This is an important milestone for our hometown and we’re proud to support Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and all county and port officials for their amazing partnership in bringing shore power to PortMiami. We continue to implement important initiatives that have kept us ahead of our ambitious goals to reduce emissions, and this new shore power capability will allow our ships to rely on the electrical grid to power our ships while in port.”
Having the ability to turn cruise ship engines off, reduces emissions up to 98%. Annually, this is the estimated equivalent of removing 7,500 cars from the road.