ROTTERDAM SHORE POWER: Plugging In to the Energy Transition
Decarbonising in the maritime space is tough, but it is possible and it is happening right now. Rotterdam Shore Power has proven that it can electrify some of the world’s largest vessels at the quay side, drastically reducing emissions, and it is now keen on including more of the industry in pilots to demonstrate how much more can be achieved. Co-Managing Director Tiemo Arkesteijn tells Energy Focus more about how RSP can efficiently manage the entire process across ports and terminals all over Europe.
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The mathematics of maritime decarbonisation are stark. A single large container ship sitting at berth with its auxiliary engines running can consume enough electricity to power thousands of homes for a year. Multiply that across the thousands of vessel calls made at Europe’s major ports annually and the scale of the problem — and the opportunity — becomes clear. Shore power, the process of connecting ships to the onshore grid while berthed so engines can switch off entirely, has been technically possible since the 1980s.
The barrier has never been the technology. It has always been the business case, the complexity of installation, and the willingness of ports, terminals and shipping lines to make the leap together – turning off the engines but switching on the shore power.
Rotterdam Shore Power exists to make that leap easier. Established as a joint venture between the Port of Rotterdam and Eneco, the company designs, builds, installs, finances, operates and maintains shore power systems for marine clients in and around Europe’s largest port. Co-Managing Director Tiemo Arkesteijn brings a background in risk management, project finance and strategic infrastructure — including three years as Financial Director of a Brazilian port — to an industry where the energy transition is both urgent and genuinely complex. “Our goal is to speed up the energy transition in ports, helping clients to make the switch to shore power,” he says. “Fundamentally, it is a socket and plug. If we can go to the moon, we can make this work in the marine industry. What is challenging is the business case and the costs.”
That challenge is precisely the gap RSP has positioned itself to fill. For most terminals, shore power sits outside their core operation. Container terminals move containers. Cruise terminals handle passengers. The prospect of building internal expertise in energy forecasting, subsidy management and maritime systems design is not realistic for most. RSP steps in as the specialist, taking that burden off its clients entirely.
“A lot of terminals are cost centres for headquarters, and they have a specific focus,” Arkesteijn explains. “If you ask them to consider shore power — which has many complexities that sit outside their core business — that can be challenging.”
The urgency of getting this right has never been greater. The EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation comes into force on 1 January 2030, requiring major TEN-T ports to supply shore-side electricity for container ships and passenger vessels, and obliging those vessels to plug in while at berth. Rotterdam published an updated Shore Power Strategy in November 2025 targeting 90% of cruise, ferry and offshore vessel visits connected by 2030, alongside at least 50% of the largest container vessels. The port already has more than 100 shore power installations with a combined capacity exceeding 43 megawatts. RSP is central to that buildout — and the 2030 clock is ticking.
STARTING BIG
RSP’s credibility in the market was not built gradually. It was established in a single, formidable project that drew the attention of the entire industry. The Heerema assignment — connecting some of the biggest offshore construction vessels in the world to shore power in the Calandkanaal — was a challenge that would have caused many operators to hesitate. RSP was ambitious.
“We were started initially as part of a project to power Heerema, home to the biggest offshore vessels, to get them onto shore power,” Arkesteijn says. “It was a major challenge and normally we would go with the mindset of ‘dream big, start small’. However, with Heerema, we dreamt big and started big. We learned a lot of lessons, but we silenced a lot of critics because we proved ourselves at such a level. Smaller ships don’t have any arguments around energy demand — if we can do vessels of that size, we can do anything.”
From that foundation, the business has expanded steadily. Following Heerema, RSP added assets for Boskalis — one of the world’s leading dredging and marine contractors — and DFDS, the Danish shipping and logistics group operating one of Europe’s largest ferry networks. These projects extended RSP’s reach across different vessel types and operational environments, demonstrating that its model was transferable beyond the offshore vertical. The diversity of those clients tells its own story: shore power is a cross-sector need rapidly becoming a compliance obligation.
However, the most significant growth is happening in deep-sea container terminals. After lengthy negotiations, RSP reached an agreement at the end of 2024 to bring shore power to four major Rotterdam terminals, with a final investment decision taken in 2025. The project encompasses APM Terminal Maasvlakte II and three Hutchison Ports ECT terminals — Delta South, Delta North and Euromax — covering around eight kilometres of quay length. When operational, the ECT connection alone is projected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 35,000 tonnes per year.
THE ABB PARTNERSHIP
Delivering projects at this scale demands partners who can match RSP’s own standards. In selecting ABB as its technology partner for the deep-sea container terminal programme, RSP has aligned itself with one of the world’s foremost names in power and automation — one whose track record in high-demand marine environments gives terminal clients confidence that comes with proven engineering.
The partnership goes beyond equipment supply. RSP operates a collaborative model throughout its supply chain, a deliberate choice reflecting the collaborative nature of shore power deployment. “Shore power is not a standard market, it is quite new and niche,” Arkesteijn explains. “You put something on the quay of the client but you do it for the liners that come, and that are not always from the same company. It has to be done in a partnership and that is why we work with open book agreements because we want electrification to happen. It is not a standard supplier-customer relationship. We are very close across the entire value chain.”
The technical complexity sitting behind that value chain is considerable. Shore power systems require an e-house to bring energy in from the grid, conversion equipment to meet the vessel’s frequency requirements — typically 50 or 60 hertz — and a cable management system to deliver power from shore to ship. Configuration varies by vessel type: on a cruise liner, the socket sits on the ship and the cable plugs in from shore; on a container vessel, the arrangement is reversed. Economics, space constraints, and terminal planning all factor into system design. “We need partners with proven track records and expert knowledge,” Arkesteijn says. “They must have expertise on technology but also in nautical operations. Understanding the dynamics of a container terminal is critical.”
BEYOND THE PORT
RSP’s ambitions extend outside of just Rotterdam’s quays. Beyond the Netherlands, the company is actively exploring opportunities in Belgium, Germany and the UK. While each market has its own shore power structures and stakeholder responsibilities, RSP is well positioned to apply its experience across different port and terminal contexts as it builds a broader European footprint.
Closer to home, the company is preparing to enter the liquid bulk sector with a pilot project planned for this year. Liquid bulk is among the most challenging segments to electrify — the vessels are large, the operational rhythms complex, and the regulatory framework is still developing. RSP sees that as an advantage. “We are keen to start now and see who is willing to lead the way and be a frontrunner of this development,” Arkesteijn says. “We also want to learn and improve so that we can go to other liquid bulk terminals and liners and show them what is possible. When the legislation is in place, we will be able to scale up much easier.”
The pattern mirrors RSP’s own history. The company that silenced critics with Heerema is now seeking to do the same in liquid bulk — using a pilot to build the evidence base, demonstrate feasibility, and be ready to scale the moment regulation catches up with ambition. Industry research has noted that shore power remains cheaper than onboard electricity generation using decarbonised fuels across Europe, and that vessels can cut emissions and fuel costs significantly through consistent connection at berth. With only around 20% of required EU shore power connections currently installed ahead of the 2030 deadline, pressure on the sector is intensifying fast.
Arkesteijn is direct about what all of this means for the wider industry. “Shore power is possible and it needs to be addressed now,” he says. “In this energy transition, we have a lot of headwinds, but this can be done and is being done right now. We can do it in an economical and sensible way where we are competitive with marine gas oil. We can do it, not only for the environment, but for people working in the terminal where noise pollution remains an issue.”
With the support of the Dutch government, EU funding, and a supply chain including many of the world’s foremost names in technology innovation, Rotterdam Shore Power is not waiting for 2030. For ports, terminals and shipping lines with the energy transition genuinely embedded in their ethos, the time to act is now.