Community Noise and Cruise Vessels Implementing Shore Power at the Port of Vancouver

Port of Vancouver envisages being a world class gateway by efficiently and sustainably connecting Canada with the global economy. With the increase in urban densification adjacent to port lands and the inevitable land usage conflicts, environmental noise is a rising concern among ports internationally. This paper examines the consequential impacts to community noise from the adoption of shore power by cruise vessels. Shore power, cold ironing or alternative marine power, is a technology that enables vessels that are properly outfitted to shut down their primary engines and satisfy onboard power demand through the local electrical grid, thus eliminating noise from engine operation. The port measured long term community noise levels throughout the 2017 cruise season in order to assess the impacts from the use of shore power. The 2017 cruise season had a total of 236 calls at the port with 55 of the calls successfully connecting to shore power. This paper presents results, examines the potential benefits, and explores how shore power fits within a broader environmental noise management program at the Port of Vancouver.