The port of Sète is now a signatory to the charter for sustainable cruising

Le quai d’Alger (ici avec le Azamara Pursuit) sera électrifié en 2026. Midi Libre – PHILIPPE MALRIC

Le port de Sète, aux côtés de ceux de Marseille, Toulon et Nice, a signé le texte établissant la Charte pour la croisière durable.

This is another step towards the decarbonisation of maritime traffic. In any case, the desire is shared by the ports of Nice, Toulon, Marseille and Sète, the main ports welcoming cruise ships on the Mediterranean coast. These structures, during the recent Blue Summit Days, made a commitment by signing the Charter for Sustainable Cruises.

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Prioritise electrical connections

“There are three main axes, explains Olivier Carmes, the director of the Sète commercial port. The first is to increase and promote electrical connections at the quayside”. Like their cousins ​​in commerce, cruise ships, when stopping over, run their engines to generate electricity for the ship. As the sector is currently being equipped, ports must therefore offer them something to plug into. In Sète, this will be the case in 2026 for the Algiers quay. The existing connections at Môle Masselin – where Corsica Ferries ships connect – will have to receive more power via the port's future photovoltaic canopies.

Decarbonizing passenger visits

The other important subject of this charter concerns the transport of passengers once they have disembarked. Those who leave to visit Carcassonne or Aigues-Mortes board buses. “The goal is to decarbonize these trips as much as possible”, announces Olivier Carmes. So during the new call for tenders next year – it is, in fact, the port that orders the buses before passing on the bill to the companies – “there will certainly be a technical constraint for the buses to run on biofuel or electricity”, explains the head of the Sète port.

There is a desire to work together

The third main axis is to further promote local outings so that cruise passengers can do them in soft traffic or on foot. “A kind of green discovery, like we do in Sète with the guided tours in the center”, says Olivier Carmes, delighted with the signature of the other ports. “There is a desire to work together and share systems and procedures.”