Ports connect ships to shore power through a purpose-built electrical system, not an ordinary outlet. Electricity passes from the port’s supply and distribution equipment through berth-side connection equipment and cables to a compatible system on the ship, where onboard distribution supplies electrical loads. The ship, berth, and supply must be designed to work together, with protection and coordinated controls managing the connection.
What shore power is—and what it is not
Shore power is electricity supplied to a vessel from land while it is at berth. You may also see it called onshore power supply, shore-side electricity, shore connection, or cold ironing. The terminology varies, but the basic idea is the same: a ship receives power from the port rather than relying entirely on its onboard generators for the loads that can be supplied ashore.
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A port cannot make a vessel shore-power-ready merely by installing equipment at a berth. The port needs a suitable supply, distribution equipment, and a ship-to-shore interface. The vessel needs corresponding receiving equipment and an onboard electrical system capable of accepting and distributing the supplied power. Voltage, capacity, frequency, and connection arrangements must match the particular installation.
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That coordination matters because ships are not interchangeable electrical loads. Their demand and onboard systems vary, as do berth infrastructure and local grid conditions. Shore power is therefore a coordinated electrical system, not a universal cable or connector that works on every ship.
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How electricity travels from the port to a ship
The connection has shore-side and ship-side parts. On shore, electricity enters the port installation and is routed through distribution equipment to the berth. Depending on the grid supply and the vessel’s requirements, the installation may use transformers or reactors and may need frequency conversion. Purpose-built cables and interface equipment carry the power across the ship-to-shore boundary. On board, the ship’s receiving equipment connects it to the vessel’s distribution system, which supplies appropriate auxiliary loads.
Those loads can include lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, refrigeration, and services used by the crew. What the shore supply can serve depends on the ship’s design and the installation; it should not be assumed that every onboard system transfers to shore power or that every source of onboard emissions stops.
Controls and protection coordinate the handover
Power is not simply switched on at one end while a ship is connected at the other. Protection, interlocking, monitoring, communication, and power-management systems form part of the installation described in IEC/IEEE 80005-1. In practical terms, these systems support a controlled connection and operation of the shore and vessel equipment. The precise equipment and operating arrangements depend on the design and the applicable standard.
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IEC/IEEE 80005-1:2019, with amendments consolidated in an IEC publication dated 2022, covers design, installation, and testing of high-voltage shore connection systems on shore and aboard ship. Its scope includes distribution, interface equipment, transformers or reactors, frequency converters, ship distribution, and controls. IEC/IEEE 80005-3:2025 sets out corresponding design, installation, and testing provisions for low-voltage shore connection systems.
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The berth connection may be fixed or movable
The point where a ship receives shore electricity is part of the berth installation. The consolidated IEC publication for the high-voltage standard records that a shore supply point can be fixed or movable. That does not make the arrangement universal: the connection equipment still has to suit the ship and shore system. The physical placement and configuration are project-specific.
High-voltage and low-voltage shore connections
High-voltage shore connection (HVSC) and low-voltage shore connection (LVSC) refer to different system scopes. The 1 MVA threshold used in the standards’ descriptions is a useful guide to applicability, not a rule that automatically assigns every vessel to one system. Vessel design, electrical supply requirements, and the detailed standard scope all matter.
| System | Standards scope or application guide | Examples and reported context |
|---|---|---|
| HVSC | IEEE describes practicable applications for ships requiring 1 MVA or more, or ships with a high-voltage main supply. | EPA’s December 2022 U.S. assessment says these systems principally served cruise, container, tanker, and refrigerated cargo vessels. It recorded U.S. installations using 6.6 kV, 11 kV, or both. |
| LVSC | IEC/IEEE 80005-3:2025 covers ships requiring up to 1 MVA at berth, for three-phase connections rated at least 250 A and 400–1,000 V AC. Its scope excludes inland navigation vessels and HVSC systems. | EPA’s December 2022 U.S. assessment describes LVSC as serving smaller fishing, tug, workboat, and support vessels, with typical reported voltages of 220–480 V. |
The values in this comparison describe different things: the LVSC standard’s rated scope is not identical to the range of voltages reported in the EPA’s U.S. installation assessment. The figures should not be used to select equipment or infer that a particular ship can connect. That requires checking the vessel’s electrical design against the berth’s actual capabilities.
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Readiness is shared between the port and the vessel. A shore installation cannot serve a ship that lacks compatible receiving and onboard equipment; likewise, a shore-ready ship cannot use a berth that lacks a compatible supply and interface. The standards address systems on shore and aboard, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discusses vessel readiness and vessel modifications in its 2022 assessment.
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Port-side considerations
- Supply and available capacity: The port must be able to provide the power required at the berth, and the local grid must have adequate capacity. Grid constraints can limit deployment even where a port has suitable connection equipment.
- Voltage and frequency needs: The supply has to match the vessel and shore installation. Depending on the situation, transformers, reactors, or frequency conversion may be part of the system.
- Berth equipment and interface: The distribution route, shore supply point, cables, interface, and controls must be designed for the intended service.
- Project use: Expected berth time and annual utilization affect how much the installation will be used and the project’s economic case.
Ship-side considerations
- Receiving equipment: A vessel needs the appropriate shore connection interface and onboard electrical equipment.
- Demand and distribution: Its at-berth electrical demand and onboard distribution determine what shore power can supply.
- Modifications: Retrofitting a vessel may require capital investment as well as coordination with the shore installation. The EPA identifies vessel modifications as part of project planning.
- Compatibility: The vessel’s voltage, capacity, and other electrical requirements must align with the berth configuration; a general-purpose adapter or cable is not an adequate substitute for that engineering match.
What changes for emissions at berth
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s December 2022 Shore Power Technology Assessment at U.S. Ports states: “Shore power can effectively reduce ship pollutant emissions at berth.” The important qualification is that the reduction depends on which ship sources can be shut down, how much power the vessel needs, how long it remains at berth, the vessel’s engines and fuel, and the electricity generation mix supplying the port.
Shore power can reduce emissions from auxiliary engines when the vessel can switch those engines off. It does not necessarily eliminate emissions from the ship. Emissions can occur during connection and disconnection, and boilers or other sources that remain in operation continue to emit. Nor does moving power generation off the vessel automatically mean zero emissions across the electricity system. Generation emissions may occur outside the port airshed, so the local air-quality result and system-wide emissions picture are not the same measure.
For these reasons, a single percentage reduction should not be applied to every port or vessel. EPA’s assessment and Shore Power Emissions Calculator are intended to estimate benefits for a specific project using relevant inputs rather than supply a universal savings figure. EPA identifies the calculator as version 2023 and says it uses updated eGRID 2020 emission factors relative to version 2022.a. Those are historical factors, not a claim about current grid conditions; a project estimate should use the current calculator and appropriate inputs.
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Shore power can require significant investment on both sides of the connection. The port may need grid, distribution, berth, and interface infrastructure; a vessel may need modifications and receiving equipment. The scale and configuration depend on the ships expected to use the berth and the power they require.
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Operating economics depend in part on electricity prices compared with marine fuel costs. EPA’s December 2022 assessment says shore power is more attractive in relative cost terms when fuel costs are higher than electricity costs. That relationship alone does not settle a project’s viability: utilization, expected time at berth, installation costs, grid capacity, and the local generation mix also affect the case. A system used infrequently has a different cost profile from infrastructure serving regular calls.
For a project comparison, assess the following together rather than treating voltage or equipment price as the deciding factor:
- Vessel categories and their at-berth power requirements.
- Whether HVSC or LVSC is appropriate for the vessel and berth, including voltage and capacity.
- Compatibility and readiness of the ship-side and berth-side interfaces.
- Grid supply, frequency-conversion needs, and available grid capacity.
- Expected berth duration and annual utilization.
- Port installation costs and vessel retrofit capital.
- Electricity prices relative to marine fuel prices.
- Grid generation mix and which pollutants are reduced in the port airshed.
How widely ports have adopted shore power
Adoption figures need their date, geography, and denominator. EPA’s December 2022 assessment identified ten U.S. ports with HVSC systems and catalogued installations at 22 U.S. port locations. Those numbers describe the inventory in that assessment, not a live 2026 census of installations.
A European Commission communication in 2026 says that 62% of surveyed European seaports offered onshore power at one or more berths. It also notes that progress is uneven and grid capacity remains a constraint. The percentage applies to the surveyed seaports and to ports with power at one or more berths; it does not mean that 62% of all berths are equipped or that every European port has the same level of service. The U.S. and European figures use different geographies, dates, and measures, so they are not directly comparable.
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Standards and European Union requirements
IEC/IEEE 80005-1:2019, with amendments consolidated in an IEC publication dated 2022, addresses HVSC design, installation, and testing on shore and onboard. IEC/IEEE 80005-3:2025, published on December 8, 2025, addresses LVSC design, installation, and testing for ships requiring up to 1 MVA at berth, including shore and ship connection equipment and systems. A standard’s scope can help identify which technical requirements are relevant, but it does not establish compatibility between any particular ship and berth.
In the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 establishes deployment requirements for specified maritime ports on the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) and specified vessel categories. It includes conditions and exceptions, including for some disconnected islands and outermost regions. The regulation should not be read as imposing an identical obligation on every port: whether a requirement applies depends on the port and vessel category and the relevant date and conditions.
Practical questions to ask about a berth
If you are assessing whether a vessel can use shore power at a particular port, begin with compatibility rather than assuming that a shore-power label guarantees a usable connection. The useful questions are:
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- Is the shore installation HVSC or LVSC, and do its voltage and capacity match the ship?
- Does the vessel have the required receiving interface and onboard equipment, or would it need modifications?
- Can the port supply the required power, including any needed frequency conversion?
- What loads can transfer to shore, and which onboard sources will continue operating?
- How often and for how long will the vessel use the berth, and what do local electricity, fuel, and grid conditions mean for cost and emissions?
There is no generally safe consumer-grade connector or cable that can be recommended across ship and berth configurations. The relevant equipment is part of a high-power marine electrical installation whose suitability depends on system ratings, interfaces, and standards.
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