ABB Shore Connection Tech for Viking XPRS Ferry

ABB Marine & Ports has installed shore connection technology aboard the passenger ferry Viking XPRS, which operates daily between Helsinki and Tallinn.

The high-speed ferry, built in 2008, is deployed on the 2.5-hour route across the Baltic Sea between Tallinn, Estonia, and Helsinki, Finland, typically docking in the Estonian city twice a day. ABB said that shore connection technology would ensure that Viking XPRS' calls in Estonia’s Port of Tallinn are made "quietly, efficiently, and emissions-free."

Per ABB, its shore connection technology is designed for easy integration on all ship types and is controlled from the vessel itself, so that sequencing does not need intervention by any shore-based staff. 

Given the frequency of port calls made by Viking XPRS, shore connection will also save substantial amounts of fuel, ABB said.

Earlier this year, Port of Tallinn installed the latest ABB shore power systems on five of its piers in Old City Harbour as part of the first shore power project in Estonia, enabling vessels with shore power technology to draw on land-based power in port.

Credit: ABB

Johanna Boijer-Svahnström, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Viking Line: "Installing a shore connection system on board Viking XPRS, and having the shore power available in the Port of Tallinn will make a significant contribution to clean air within the port and its surroundings. We have successfully collaborated with ABB on a number of projects, and the fact that ABB provides installations aboard ship and in port, with prompt delivery and backed up by 24-hour support, has proved compelling.”

Jyri Jusslin, SVP and Head of Service at ABB Marine & Ports. “Our shore connection is designed for all types of ships, with safety and simplicity in mind. This is also another key step in ensuring that Baltic Sea ports continue on their forward-looking path to eliminate emissions.”

ABB’s scope of supply for Viking XPRS ferry covered a shore connection control board with three separate ship-shore communication links, the medium-voltage switchgear, an 11kV-400V transformer, a circuit breaker bypass arrangement for drydock connection, and a low-voltage main switchboard breaker. Commissioning was performed during the vessel’s normal operation.