Horizon Terminal at Southampton UK’s “Greenest” Cruise Terminal

Robert Courts, the UK’s Maritime Minister, has backed the opening of the country’s “greenest” cruise terminal.

The Horizon terminal at Southampton port is the first of its kind, with solar panels on the top and clean energy shore power plug-in charging stations for ships.

According to the Department for Transport, the £55 million facility, which was created in collaboration between MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, is paving the way for greener cruising.

Courts paid a visit to the terminal this week, which opened in July.

He stated,   ”As the cruising sector  bounces back from the pandemic, it’s important that our environmental commitments are at the heart of everything we do.

“Building state-of-the-art green infrastructure at cruise terminals helps us move towards cleaner cruising, creating more spaces for these ships to dock and putting us on track to hit net zero by 2050.”

As part of London International Shipping Week, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps revealed government actions targeted at reducing emissions in the sector, including joining other countries in adopting a “absolute zero” target for international shipping emissions by 2050.

He stated, ”  ”As a proud island nation built on our maritime prowess, it is only right that we lead by example when it comes to decarbonizing the sector and building back greener.”

Sarah Kenny, chair of Maritime UK, said: “Through increased investment and closer collaboration with the government our industry can rise to the challenge of steering the UK’s vessels in a green direction.”