The New York City Council has approved legislation aimed at reducing harmful emissions from cruise ships docked at the city’s terminals.
The new law mandates cruise ships with shore power capability to connect to shore power when available and feasible, rather than running on dirty diesel engines while idling in New York. This move is expected to mitigate pollution, noise, and other impacts on local communities surrounding the terminals.
Sponsored by Council Member Alexa Aviles, the legislation alters the terms of the contract between the City and the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to compel cruise terminal operators to ensure cruise ships with shore power capability connect to available systems when docked. The goal is to reduce emissions from ships at berth and address community impacts through traffic mitigation strategies.
The Port of New York, including terminals in Red Hook and Midtown Manhattan, is one of the busiest cruise and shipping ports in the U.S. While the Brooklyn Ferry Terminal has underutilized shore power capacity, the Manhattan Terminal currently lacks it entirely
Implementing shore power capacity is anticipated to significantly lower emissions, reduce carbon footprint, and lower operational costs for ship operators.
During the 2023 GREEN4SEA Athens Forum, Theodosia Digalaki, Technical Product Manager, ERMA FIRST, shared her perspective on reducing carbon footprint with shore power. She explained that shore power causes significant reduction of air emissions (SOx, NOx, PM) and improves port’s microclimate, while enabling maintenance of auxiliary engines.