Miles SmithThe Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is planning to spend $60 million on an electric power system that will allow cruise ships docked at Flynn Cruiseport to use electric shore power and conserve diesel fuel while reducing air pollution.
When ships use shore power, they tap landside electricity for their power needs at berth – lights, pumps, communications, and refrigeration – instead of running diesel-fueled auxiliary on-board engines. Nearly 80% of cruise ships that dock at Flynn have the technology to allow them to access the power, Massport said.
The power will be installed at Flynn’s two main berths.
“We know that our activity impacts the communities that we are around, including South Boston,” Massport Chief Executive Officer Richard Davey said. “Making this commitment to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the cruise (terminal) is critical to ensuring that we can continue to develop here and at the same time ensure that the communities that were around continue to thrive and grow as well.”
Completion of the project is anticipated in 2029.
The state’s push for more electrification of its maritime operation comes in the wake of increasing health research that points to emissions causing respiratory illnesses, heart disease and cancer in frontline port communities.
Massport has expanded its cruise and cargo ship operations over the last decade, steadily booking bigger vessels—and more of them. In 2024, 167 cruise ships visited and docked at Boston Harbor, up from 141 the year before the start of the pandemic, according to the state agency.
The annual tonnage of these ships has also increased more than 38% in the last decade, from 5.5 million tons in 2014 to 7.6 million last year, according to U.S. Customs data.
Photo courtesy 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
