Seattle’s Pier 66 goes green, concludes 2024 cruise season

SEATTLE — On Monday, the Port of Seattle announced that the Bell Street Cruise Terminal on Pier 66 is now equipped with shore power.

The electrification of the pier enables cruise ships to connect to the Seattle Light grid, reducing fuel usage and lowering air emissions.

According to the Port of Seattle, the city has become one of the only ports that offers shore power that can support multiple ships at its berths.

“With the installation of shore power at Pier 66, I’m proud to say Seattle is one of the only ports globally able to simultaneously power three cruise ships with low-carbon electricity,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman. “Enabling three cruise ships to turn off their generators while at dock has the potential to eliminate three tons of particulates and 10,000 tons of greenhouse gases over a full cruise season, which benefits the climate, communities, and economy.”

The Port of Seattle stated that electrification enabled each ship to reduce diesel emissions by 80% and CO2 emissions by 66%.

“The Port of Seattle would like to thank the partners that made this cruise season one of our best ever, on and off the water, all of that with clean hydro power,” said Port of Seattle Executive Director Stephen P. Metruck. “We especially thank the City of Seattle and Seattle City Light who are helping us electrify the working waterfront and create a more sustainable future for our region.”

With the conclusion of the Seattle cruise season, the city had 276 ship calls and generated $1.7 million in revenue from tourism.

The Port of Seattle is expecting to have 299 ship calls and estimates generating $1.9 million from tourism during the 2025 cruise season.

The project was possible because of a $44 billion investment.

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