Shore power26 Oct 202626 October 2026

Cold ironing in the Mediterranean: which ports can plug in a ship today

decarbonising
the future.

The Mediterranean holds more than a third of the shore power projects on DTF's map. Ships can use very few of them.

DTF checked all 49 Mediterranean ports on its shore power map against port authority, operator and supplier records. A ship can plug in and draw power in commercial service at eight of them today. Italy has the most projects in the region, 23, and none of them yet offers cold ironing as a commercial service.

Where a ship can plug in today

Port	Country	Terminal and ships	In service since
Marseille Fos	France	Ferry quays (Corsica and Maghreb ferries); Cruise Terminal 1, three ships at once	Ferries January 2017; cruise 11 April 2026
Valletta, Grand Harbour	Malta	Cruise: Pinto Wharf, Deep Water Quay, Boiler Wharf, up to five ships at once	1 December 2023
Barcelona	Spain	Hutchison BEST container terminal, 8 MW for two ships (pilot phase); Grimaldi ferry terminal, Barcelona to Palma route	Container 17 September 2024; ferry 31 March 2025
Palma	Spain	Moll de Paraires ferry berth, 1.6 MW	May 2024
Sète	France	Ferry quays, four connection points, 6.3 MW	20 May 2025
Toulon	France	Ferry terminal, three ferries or one cruise ship	2025 (accepted June 2025)
Alcúdia	Spain	Ferry terminal, fast ferry, low voltage	30 July 2026
Asyaport, Tekirdağ	Türkiye	Container terminal	October 2024

Three of the eight take cruise ships: Valletta, Marseille and Toulon. Valletta connected its first ship, Viking Saturn, on 1 December 2023 and recorded 94 connected calls and about 3.7 GWh of electricity supplied in its first year, according to Infrastructure Malta. Marseille opened cruise connections at its first terminal on 11 April 2026 with MSC World Europa, Costa Toscana and Costa Fascinosa connected at the same time. Barcelona's cruise terminals are not yet connected. Shore power for the MSC terminal is due in 2027 and Terminal G was awarded in April 2026, both fed from a new port substation under the Nexigen electrification plan.

Use varies. Toulon had connected 22 port calls by October 2025. Alcúdia and Asyaport have each reported a first connection, not yet a pattern of regular use. Alicante finished shore power works at four cargo berths in September 2023, but DTF found no record of a ship connecting, so it is not counted here.

Italy: built, tested, not open

Italy is where the gap is widest. Of its 23 projects, three are built and waiting, two have only run tests, and the rest are still under construction.

Built, waiting for an operator: Savona's cruise terminal (works completed 22 July 2026), Trieste and Monfalcone (units tested on load banks, no ships, as of September 2026)
Tested only: La Spezia (Costa Toscana, October and December 2025) and Gioia Tauro (MSC Mirja, about 7 MW, July 2026)
Due in 2026 with no service reported: Catania, Piombino, Portoferraio and Ancona, all scheduled for June 2026
Grid limited: Naples, where a new city centre substation is needed first

The reason is regulatory as much as technical. Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport Decree No. 10 of 22 January 2026 requires each port system authority to award the cold ironing service to an operator through a concession, with tariffs based on a financial plan. The ministry published its guidelines for those awards in July 2026. In July, Gioia Tauro said tests were all it could do until the ministry set guidelines and tariffs; Trieste and Savona list appointing an operator as their next step.

The decree also passes Italy's discount on general system charges, worth €570 million to 2033, straight to the ships that connect. From 1 January 2030 the discount ends in Italy's main ports.

Under construction elsewhere

Spain: Valencia (target of 22 connection points by 2030), Algeciras (works awarded March 2026), Ibiza Botafoc and Mahón (awarded May 2025)
Malta: Malta Freeport, with Connecting Europe Facility funding, and the southern Grand Harbour quays for ro ro and cargo
Greece: Igoumenitsa, three connection points, with an 18 month build under a contract signed in February 2026

Piraeus, Koper and Limassol remain at planning stage, and Limassol's project faces EU funding hurdles reported this month.

How DTF checked

A port counts as able to plug in a ship only where at least one vessel has connected and drawn power in commercial service, confirmed by the port authority, the operator, the supplier or the ship line. Tests, load bank trials and completed works without a recorded connection do not count. The full list, with sources for every port, is on the DTF shore power map; more coverage is in Mediterranean ports.

The Mediterranean has the hardware on order. In most of its ports, the missing piece is now the operator.

DTF Maritime News

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Cold IroningShore PowerOPSMediterraneanMaltaVallettaMarseilleBarcelonaItalySpainFrancePort Electrification

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