Hey friends,

If you’ve spent enough years around ports, you know one thing never changes: vessels at berth keep their engines running. They burn fuel to power onboard systems—lighting, HVAC, reefers, engines on standby. It’s the background noise of any harbour.

But that “hum” is disappearing.

Not because of technology—shore power (OPS) has been around for decades—but because Europe is now turning it into law. And once Brussels sets a deadline, the entire maritime ecosystem has to move.

This week, I want to break down the new rules—FuelEU Maritime and Fit-for-55—and explain what they demand, when they kick in, and what that means for ports, shipowners, and anyone working in operations, procurement or logistics leadership.

Not theory.
Not greenwashing.
Real operational impact.

Let’s get into it.

For years, OPS (On-Shore Power Supply) has been a sustainability talking point. Everyone agreed it was good… but nobody really had a business case.

Fuel was cheap.
Grid upgrades weren’t.
And ports live in a delicate balance between public and private stakeholders.

But with FuelEU Maritime, everything changes.

The regulation says that large container ships and passenger vessels must plug into OPS in European ports, starting January 2030, unless they use an alternative zero-emission technology at berth.

This is not a suggestion.
This is not “subject to feasibility.”
This is the law.

Fit-for-55—the EU’s decarbonisation mega-package—acts as the umbrella, and FuelEU Maritime is the maritime chapter inside it.

At the same time, another regulation, AFIR (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation), obliges many European ports—especially TEN-T core ports—to actually install the OPS infrastructure.

Translation:
👉 Ships will have to plug in.
👉 Ports will be obliged to provide the plug.

The “chicken or egg” is finally solved.

Here’s the short version you can screenshot:

Container ships and passenger vessels (above certain tonnage thresholds) must use OPS in EU ports equipped with it.

More ports install infrastructure.
Exemptions become more limited.
Penalties escalate.

Shore power is standard for most regular traffic in Europe.

Let’s be honest: most compliance obligations feel painful at first. OPS is no different. The investment is heavy, coordination is messy, and electrical systems in ports are never as straightforward as they should be.

But OPS has real-world benefits that go far beyond compliance.

A large container ship burns around 1–2 tons of fuel per hour at berth.
Plugging in eliminates almost all of it.

This reduces:

For ports near cities (like Barcelona, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Lisbon), this is a huge win.

Ports are increasingly under political pressure:

OPS gives ports a narrative shift:
“We are part of the solution, not the problem.”

Imagine two competing ports:

Major carriers and cruise lines will prefer Port A.

Why?

Because it reduces their own FuelEU penalties and improves their sustainability KPIs.

Infrastructure becomes a commercial advantage.

OPS sounds simple: plug in a cable.

But the devil lives in the details. Here are the things most ports underestimate.

A cruise vessel or large container ship can require 6–12 MW at berth.

That’s the equivalent of powering a small town.

Most ports do not currently have the grid capacity. That means:

This is why you should start early.

Not all vessel classes use the same voltage, frequency, or connectors.

The EU follows IEC/ISO/IEEE standards (usually 80005-1/-2), but retrofits in older fleets will take time.

Expect:

OPS is not a plug-and-play solution.

Who pays for what?

Every European port is currently improvising a different financial model.

The risk:
If pricing is too high, shipowners won’t plug in.
If it’s too low, ports won’t recover the investment.

Finding the balance will be a political exercise as much as an economic one.

OPS requires coordination between:

If even one actor moves slowly, the whole project stalls.

Many ports underestimate this.

If I were managing a port or a terminal, I would focus on five priorities today, not in 2029.

This is the longest lead-time component.

You need to know:

Most delays in OPS projects come from the electrical side, not the maritime side.

Ports need financial sustainability.

Decide early:

A transparent model avoids later conflict.

OPS obligations apply only to certain vessels… but if your port is 70% container traffic, this becomes ultra-critical.

Knowing:

…helps design the right system and avoid over-building or under-building.

This is the biggest “soft skill” challenge.

OPS will fail if:

You need a governance group. A steering committee. A shared roadmap.

This is your storytelling advantage.

If your port is ahead of schedule, talk about it everywhere:

In the next decade, green competitiveness will be real competitiveness.

This isn’t only a port issue.
Procurement leaders, operations directors, and supply-chain managers should already be thinking about:

New tenders for port calls or terminal contracts should reference FuelEU obligations.

Especially reefer-intensive cargo or high-energy operations.

OPS connection adds steps, checks, and time.

Your teams need training.

Ports that are not fuel-EU ready may create bottlenecks in your network.

You need alternatives.

Europe has finally drawn a line in the sand.

In 2030, plugging in will no longer be optional.

And ports that delay will find themselves locked out of the green corridor ecosystem the EU is clearly building.

If you work in maritime, logistics, port operations, or procurement, OPS will touch your world — not as a sustainability trend, but as a structural operational shift.

The winners will be the ones who prepare early, build partnerships, and see OPS not as a cost…

…but as a competitive moat.

Cheers,

Fernando