Last Monday, the EUROPA 2 used shore power in a port outside Europe for the first time – during its call at San Diego, California. Now that the small luxury ship from the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises fleet has been regularly using shore power at the Cruise Center Hamburg Altona and the Ostseekai in Kiel, San Diego is the first port in North America to be added to the list.

Double premiere for the EUROPA 2: while the small luxury ship is travelling along the diverse West Coast of America, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has used its maiden call at San Diego to promote the use of shore power outside Europe as well. Sailing from San Francisco to Colon, guests on this special route await experiences including the world’s most famous suspension bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, glamorous Hollywood flair in Los Angeles and a daytime passage through the Panama Canal. For the first time, the EUROPA 2 is making stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Bahia Magdalena, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatanejo, Puerto Quetzal and Puntarenas on this cruise – making it a route full of firsts for the ship, crew and guests.

In 2020, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises used the EUROPA 2’s pandemic-related lay time in Hamburg to complete testing for the successful use of the shore power system at the Cruise Center Altona and have it approved by the DNV. Since then, the EUROPA 2 is able to use shore power anywhere in the world wherever this energy supply is available. The use of shore power reduces CO2 and pollutant emissions in the port by replacing onboard generator use with grid electricity. There are currently around 25 ports worldwide with shore power systems for cruise ships.