Shanghai plans to build six electric generators at cruise ship terminals to provide power while liners are berthed to reduce pollution from the increasing number visiting the city, local news reports.
The liners that mostly burn diesel while berthed have become a major source of pollution, Zhang Lin, deputy director of the city’s transport commission, told.
“Though without accurate evaluation, the pollutants from a cruise line are estimated to be equal to 3,000 to 5,000 vehicles,” he said.
According to the commission, ship emissions account for 8 to 10 percent of Shanghai’s PM2.5 pollutants, the tiny particles that are hazardous to human health.
The city is now the world’s eighth largest cruise liner port, hosting more than 400 voyages and 1.6 million passengers last year. Zhang said the “unexpected, too fast development” had created various problems, including its effect on the city’s air quality.
Over 500 voyages will dock at local ports this year with more than 2.4 million passengers, Zhang said. The commission had cut some voyages to control the number, he added.
The first high-voltage electric generator will undergo a trial run by September at the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal, one of the city’s two cruise liner ports.
The other at the North Bund area in Hongkou District is mainly for smaller cruise ships.
The city will subsidize the ports’ installation costs and a portion of the cost of the electricity used by the liners. It will cover maintenance costs.
Source: Shanghai Daily
