Cold ironing sits squarely within the EU’s port decarbonisation agenda: the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 requires electrification of berths at major TEN-T ports by set deadlines, making the Guidelines part of a broader “Fit for 55” push. For insurers, however, their real significance lies elsewhere: for the first time, a national regulator has systematically mapped the operational, financial and civil-liability risks of running shore-power infrastructure inside a crowded, multi-operator port environment.
The Guidelines instruct Italy’s Port System Authorities (Autorità di Sistema Portuale, or AdSP — the public bodies that regulate, but do not commercially operate, Italian ports) on how to tender concessions for cold ironing: the supply of shore-side electricity to ships at berth, which lets vessels switch off their diesel auxiliary engines while docked.
The measure implements a 2019 law that classified cold ironing as a “service of general economic interest” (SIEG — the EU-derived category for utility-type services that must be entrusted through public tender) and gives detailed operational content to a January 2026 ministerial decree.
Three risks, one compulsory policy
The Guidelines require concessionaires to take out insurance covering three distinct risk categories:
- bodily injury or property damage caused by the concessionaire’s own staff or subcontractors;
- damage arising from the electrical infrastructure itself — faults, power surges, short circuits, or malfunctions in the shore-to-ship power link;
- damage to the infrastructure caused by the concessionaire’s own fault.
The Guidelines build the whole liability architecture on Article 23 of Italy’s navigation code. Protected third parties explicitly include shipowners, terminal operators and the port authority itself — reflecting how densely cold-ironing facilities interact with pre-existing dock users. Minimum sums insured, however, are left to each port authority to set case by case, so meaningful variation between tenders is likely.
Beyond compliance, the Guidelines should be viewed as a signal of industrial policy. Cold ironing is one of the clearest and most tangible ways in which Italy can decarbonise its ports. Replacing hours of diesel-fuelled auxiliary power at berth with grid electricity measurably reduces local emissions and noise in port cities, and this can be achieved without waiting for slower-moving fuel-switching technologies at sea. By providing Port System Authorities with a clear, replicable tendering methodology, the Guidelines have removed a significant source of uncertainty that previously hindered investment. Shipowners calling at Italian ports can now plan where and how they will be able to connect, terminal operators can plan how to coexist with the new infrastructure without jeopardising their own concessions, and investors and lenders can use the EU-aligned regulatory framework to secure project financing.
For the broader European maritime cluster — including shipowners, terminal operators, port authorities, and equipment manufacturers — this represents a genuine opportunity to increase competitiveness: ports that electrify berths early will be able to attract more environmentally friendly shipping lines, comply more easily with incoming EU emissions requirements, and stand out in the crowded Mediterranean port landscape. Besides, where new energy infrastructure and contractual relationships are being developed on a large scale, new insurable exposure is also being created. In this context, this text also serves as an early indication of where marine and energy underwriters are likely to find new business opportunities over the next decade.
