The Cruise Gateway North Sea group recently met in Gothenburg, which included a best practices tour of the city and the port. The port of Gothenburg has a number of piers equipped for cold ironing and more than 30 percent of the ships calling there hook up to shorepower.

The port also offers reduced rates for ships using low-sulfur fuel while in port. In addition are plans to build an LNG terminal by 2015, when Gothenburg expects to be a “carbon neutral port.”

Cruise Gateway North Sea is three-year, 1.9 million euro project set up to develop the North Sea as a sustainable cruise destination in its own right. The 14 members of the group include the major cruise ports of Hamburg, Kiel, Copenhagen, Rotterdam and Gothenburg. Efforts include lobbying and marketing, the building of a regional maritime identity, and developing innovative ideas for passenger excursions.