ABS signs up to BlueBARGE Project

ABS has joined Horizon Europe’s BlueBarge Project, an initiative involving 14 partners from ten European countries focusing on the development of shore power facilities. ABS will provide safety, classification, and regulatory compliance services in the EUR 11 million project, which is expected to take 36 months.

The BlueBarge partners will assess the feasibility of developing an offshore supply of shore power to moored and anchored ships. They will address challenges including those relating to electrical integration, platform interfacing with ships, ports, and local networks, as well as operational safety issues and regulatory compliance.

The classification society’s Business Development manager and head of Europe for Contracted Research and Development, Konstantinos Voutzoulidis, said: “ABS is supporting cutting-edge electrification projects around the world for shipowners, shipyards, and other stakeholders. We are well-positioned to use our deep industry knowledge to advance electrification and power connection technologies and to understand the risks as vessels and infrastructure become increasingly electrified and connected. ABS is excited to collaborate with such a great consortium in supporting the maritime industry to achieve the European Union and international electrification and decarbonisation goals.”

In a recent study published by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), a US research institute, analysis indicated that the European Union will need to triple or quadruple its installed shore power capacity by 2030 to meet FuelEU Maritime regulations and the bloc’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). FuelEU will enter force in January 2025, while the AFIR, adopted during the third quarter of 2023, enters force on April 13.