Holland America fleet now fully shore electricity capable!

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, TheEmerson said:

The Port can offer a price for the Power Factor, Infrastructure Recovery Costs, etc.   And HAL like any other Cruise line will negotiate with the Port Authority for the best results for each.   HAL can offer what is covered in the futures contracts to offset/supplement or cover what the PF in the kVA used to the Port as part of the converstaion.  We will never be in the room during the negotiations to know what the final outcome will be other than the SEC Filings shows us.  Both sides want to use the shore power facilities but only when it makes sense to do so.   HAL in this case does not have to buy the service if it is not regulated into doing so.

 

The Port Authority must purchase the electric power from BC Hydro, a highly regulated Provincial Crown Corporation. Power supplies in BC do not get cheaper the more you use, as the Govt is trying to make us less electricity dependent. Our power rates increase the more we use.

 

However, I expect the Port does have fixed rates negotiated with BC Hydro. The cruise lines are not purchasing power on the local market directly from BC Hydro, they are buying from the port, who no doubt charge what they pay BC Hydro, a mark up and a fee to recoup the shore infrastructure costs.

 

Purchasing shore power, at least in Vancouver and Victoria is not the same as purchasing bunkers.

[chengkp75]

16 hours ago, Bxc53 said:

Fair point. My aviation background snuck that one in. Your profile certainly backs your statement  .

 

A question, if I may ?   Our last cruise was on the RCL Quantum. Being a curious type, I researched their engines.    6 total, with 2 ea. Wartsila 19,200 KW , 2 Ea. Wartsila 14,400 KW and 2 Cat  2500KW.  
 

When would the smaller Cat engines be used?
 

 

 

RCI has apparently learned the hard lesson that having only 4 main engines causes problems when overhauls (about every 2.5 years) come due, especially when the large engines are taken out of service for a month to overhaul.  The itineraries would be designed for a "normal top speed" (not "true" full speed) using the 2 19Mw engines and one 14Mw engine, to allow one 14Mw engine to be down for overhaul without affecting itinerary.  But, if one of the 19Mw engines is down, you would have to adjust itinerary to account for a slower top speed.  The two CAT engines make up the difference between a 14Mw engine and a 19Mw engine, so you run the two CAT's, the two 14Mw engines, and a 19Mw engine, and you get the needed output.  Also, having more than 4 engines allows for more fine tuning of generating capacity to meet the power requirements at various speeds and weather conditions (such as running one 14Mw, one 19Mw, and one CAT, for example).  Keeping the engines loaded to as near 85% capacity provides the best fuel consumption, so matching production capacity to demand by mixing engine sizes helps with this.

[badtwin]

Currently on Rotterdam with brown out situation because something went wrong with switch to shore power. At Aarhus. Captain was on PA to explain but I think his system lost power.

 

Update. It sounds like everything up and running again so only temporary - maybe 15 minutes.

Edited October 5, 2023 by badtwin
Update

[cbr663]

I'm sure that many people reading this thread appreciate the irony of discussing huge cruise ships using shore power in the port of Vancouver which also happens to be the single largest coal port in North America.  

[Heidi13]

23 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

I'm sure that many people reading this thread appreciate the irony of discussing huge cruise ships using shore power in the port of Vancouver which also happens to be the single largest coal port in North America.  

 

I'll suggest the irony is that since we have no need to burn coal and rarely natural gas to generate power, the revenue from coal exports helps to build additional dams. In addition, over 95% of our coal exports is used in steel production, so is most likely used in the building of the cruise ships docking at Canada Place and connecting to our clean power.

 

BTW - the City of Vancouver has no coal exports, as Neptune Bulk Terminals is in North Vancouver and most of the coal exports are from Delta Port, well south of Vancouver