SHORE SUPPLY

• SHORE SUPPLY IS USED DURING DRYDOCK WHEN

GENERATORS HAVE TO BE STOPPED FOR
OVERHAULING.
• NOWADAYS MANY PORTS ARE SUPPLING SHORE
CONNECTION SO THAT EMISSION CAN BE
CONTROLLED IN PORTS.
• HENCE A SHORE CONNECTION BOX MUST BE
PROVIDED TO CONNECT THE SHORE SUPPLY TO
THE SHIP.
• SHORE CONNECTION BOX IS FOUND IN
EMERGENCY GENERATOR ROOM.
 SHORE CONNECTION BOX CONTAINS
FOLLOWING COMPONENTS ½
• DATA PLATE TO SHOW VOLTAGE AND
FREQUENCY OF SHIPS ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
INCLUDING METHOD TO CONNECT THE
CABLE.
• CIRCUIT BREAKER AND FUSE
• PHASE SEQUENCE INDICATOR
• INDICATOR LAMP
 2/2
• SHORE SUPPLY WHEN CONNECTED TO THE
SHORE SUPPLY BUS BAR, ITS PHASE SEQUENCE IS
CHECKED WITH THE HELP OF PHASE SEQUENCE
INDICATOR.
• PHASE SEQUENCE INDICATOR IF SHOWS
CLOCKWISE ROTATION THEN ITS OK, AND IF ANTI
CLOCKWISE ROTATION THEN SHORE SUPPLY TO
BE STOPPED AND DISCONNECTED AND ANY TWO
PHASES ARE INTERCHANGED.
• THEN AGAIN ONCE MORE THE PHASE INDICATOR
IS CHECKED.
BEFORE STARTING THE SHORE SUPPLY
• EMERGENCY GENERATOR SHOULD BE PUT IN
MANUAL AND THEN THE GENERATORS
SHOULD BE STOPPED.
• ONCE BLACK OUT HAPPENS. THEN ONLY THE
SHORE SUPPLY SHOULD BE MADE ON.
• AN INTERLOCK IS PROVIDED, WHICH DONOT
ALLOW THE SHORE SUPPLY TO COME ON
LOAD BEFORE MAIN GENERATOR POWER IS
OFF.
Procedure To Take Shore Power During Dry Docking Of
Ships 1/7

• Drydock is one of the most crucial periods for

a ship and its staff as it’s the time when all the
major repairs and surveys take place.
• As per the regulations under SOLAS Chapter 1
Regulation 10, a commercial vessel has to
undergo two inspections of its hull in 5 years
period conditioning; the time-gap between
two of these inspections should not be more
than 36 months.
 2/7
• The dry-dock also gives an excellent
opportunity for ship management team to
carry out repairs of the main and auxiliary
engine, sea water pipes and system,
intermediate and tail shaft, propeller, bow
thruster and other similar machinery systems
whose repairs cannot be performed at high
seas when the ship is floating in the water.
 3/7
• Make sure the ship’s power receiving terminal is prepared well in
advance of the dry-dock so that it can be connected to the shore
power without any trouble.
• Ensure the receiving box is not obstructed with any object, pipes or
spares. It is usually located either on the deck near accommodation
entrance or at the emergency generator room
• If the box is not used or maintained for long, clean the box and
ensure the safety door hinges and locks are functioning smoothly
• Ensure all the receiving terminals inside the box are present and in
good working condition
• Ensure earthing cable is provided to earth the ship’s hull to shore
earth
• Ensure measuring instrument such as voltmeter, phase sequence
indicator, and tester etc. are present
 4/7
• Ensure the indication of shore power (in the form of
light bulb) is present and working
• Ensure a safety device (circuit breaker or fuse) is
provided in the terminal to protect the MSB of the ship
• Ensure details of shore power requirement is pasted
near the shore receiving terminal box, which includes
required voltage, frequency, and method of connecting
the shore supply
• Ensure the ship’s batteries are tested for full charging
• Check the cable drawn to ship for providing shore
supply is in excellent condition
 5/7
• Check the insulation resistance of the cable provided
for the shore supply
• Check the insulation resistance of the shore supply box
• Check and ensure the frequency and voltage of shore
supply are matching with the specifications required by
the ship
• Check the phase sequence of the shore supply using
phase sequence tester
• Check the tightness of the shore cable connector clamp
to ensure they are not loose
• Ensure to display notice near the vicinity of ship’s
receiving terminal box about high power cable in use
 6/7
• Check and ensure the ship’s generators are disconnected from the
Main Switch Board of the ship
• A responsible officer must check and record the energy meter
reading provided on shore-side
• Ensure ship’s hull is earthed to the shore before supplying shore
power to the ship
• For checking the phase sequence, a bulb type phase sequence
indicator can be used in which two lamps are connected to
unbalanced load across the 3 phase via capacitor and resistors.
• The phase sequence will be considered “OK” when the right side
lamp is bright, and the left side one is dark
• Another instrument used to measure PSI is a small portable 3 phase
induction motor driven meter with a rotary pointer
 7/7
• Check the frequency of the supply from the provided frequency
meter or on the Main Switch Board of the ship
• Ensure to keep the emergency generator in manual mode to use
the same if the shore power goes off abruptly and electricity supply
is needed .
• Correct sequence
• By “correct” mean that it is the same sequence as the ship’s supply
(red-yellow- blue).
• A reversed phase sequence (red-blue-yellow) will produce a
reversed shaft rotation in all 3-phase motors because the direction
of their rotating magnetic fields will be reversed with disastrous
results.
• This fault is rectified by interchanging any two conductors of the
shore supply cable at the connection box.
 Common problem faced by ship’s staff
while taking shore supply- 1/3

1 . Shore supply switched on, but the ship is not

getting power
• Check the three fuses connected between the
ship’s terminal and Main Switch Board (MSB)
• Check the circuit breaker located in shore
supply switchboard
• Check circuit breaker interlocks which are
arranged in the system to avoid paralleling of
shore and generator power
 Common problem faced by ship’s
staff while taking shore supply- 2/3
2 . Shore power trips during supply
• Faulty shore cable. Ensure the cables used for
supplying power is of proper size and as per the
maximum protective current value of the ship.
• Overload in the system. Ensure to correctly calculate
the electrical load of the ship during the drydock using
electric power balance table to avoid overload trip.
• Generator circuit breaker trip: It is possible that the
safety breaker for the generator trips the shore supply
during the inspection or maintenance of generator’s
interlock.
 Common problem faced by ship’s
staff while taking shore supply- 3/3
3 . Wrong shore supply
• Most countries have their local regulations which
make the shore supply compulsory to avoid
emission problems.
• If the voltage and frequency of shore power do
not match with the ship’s rating, the machinery
will operate at lower efficiency and may face
overheating problems.
• The ship manager must ensure to choose a dry-
dock, which can provide shore supply as per the
ship’s requirement.
 Different frequency / or voltage
• The shore supply may have a different frequency
and / or voltage to that of the ship’s system.
• A higher frequency can cause motors to run
faster, and the chances of overloaded and
overheat increases.
• A higher voltage will generally cause equipment
to take excess current and overheat. It will also
cause motors to accelerate more rapidly and this.
May overstress the driven loads.
 Cold ironing
• Cold ironing is a shipping industry term that first came
into use when all ships had coal-fired engines.
• When a ship tied up at port there was no need to
continue to feed the fire and the iron engines would
literally cool down, eventually going completely cold,
hence the term cold ironing.
• Cold ironing, or shore connection, shore-to-ship
power (SSP) or alternative maritime power (AMP) :
• Is the process of providing shore-side electrical
power to a ship at berth while its main and
auxiliary engines are turned off.