Port of Tallinn to construct green cruise terminal

Within the scope of the Old City Harbour development, Port of Tallinn is planning the construction of a new cruise terminal, which is to be designed with sustainable and smart solutions in mind, to transform the area.

According to Valdo Kalm, chairman of the management board of Port of Tallinn, who spoke in May at the Green Cruise Port seminar ‘Smart Cities, Smart Buildings and Smart Solutions’, in the Estonian Centre of Architecture, sustainability and smart solutions for higher effectiveness have become key words in global marine transportation and in the Baltic Sea region alike.

Mr Kalm noted that the management board of Port Tallinn would apparently introduce the proposition concerning the construction of a new cruise terminal to the supervisory board at the end of this year. The project draws inspiration from success stories of ports in other regions, as well as city architects’ recommendations on creating a combination of a well-functioning infrastructure and urban environment.

“The new cruise terminal, catering for the demands of passengers and operators as well as the future trends of the global cruise business, will be environmentally compatible and full of innovative smart solutions, so that the guests of Tallinn arriving by cruise ships can enjoy smooth and convenient services. At the same time, we aim to open the cruise pier area for city residents by creating a well-planned and easily accessible urban space.”

According to Sacha Rougier, the managing director of Cruise Gate Hamburg, a subsidiary of Port of Hamburg, the development of a port infrastructure with the use of smart solutions and with regard to the needs of tourists and operators will contribute to the substantial saving of energy and infrastructure use, as well as the passengers’ and operators’ time.

“Ports should, on the one hand, reduce their dependence on traditional energy sources and, on the other hand, keep looking for solutions that would decrease energy consumption and expenses,” Rougier said. “From the traveller’s point of view, terminals of the future should be more compact, featuring, for example, smart check-in and smooth luggage handling in cooperation with airports and other transportation hubs as well as uniform and thereby significantly faster border crossing and customs procedures.”

According to Rougier, what cruise ship operators consider important is the capability to handle larger and larger vessels and provide more and more alternative energy sources, such as electricity or bunkering with liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In his turn at the seminar, Ukko E. Metsola, vice-president of Royal Caribbean International, noted that the solution of environmental issues (for example, vessel waste and sewage reception) and compliance with the relevant stringent requirements are becoming more and more of a challenge for ports and vessel operators.

“Providing cruise operators with a continuing opportunity to visit ports with no sewage pipelines and to dispose of sewage at the next stop if the vessel has sufficient container facilities as well as creating the appropriate compensatory mechanisms will be of use for the entire sector, including the ports of Tallinn and Helsinki, which have already made the necessary investments,” he added.