Today in the port of La Spezia the first Cold ironing system testing for energy supply electricity from the shore grid to the ships at berth. The experimentation, at the forefront of the Italian port scene, is occurred by connecting the transformer cabin on the quay to the pier Garibaldi to MSC Cruises' MSC Seaview cruise ship. The operation took place with the help of a special robot purchased in Estonia by the Port System Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea that brought the cables for the power supply electric on board.

The tests had the aim of proving the correct operation of the connection system between the electrical distribution on the quay and the ship, of the systems and of the equipment carried out by the Port Network Authority, as well as to define in detail the procedures that will have to be adopted to make the safe and efficient manoeuvres. The works being tested are were built on behalf of the port authority by the Mont-Ele company Srl, which was awarded the integrated contract for the executive design and construction of the transformation, for an amount of just over seven million euro, which completed its work last August.

The extraordinary commissioner of the Port Authority, Bruno Pisano, explained that today "a path has begun that, through further and necessary tests, it will allow ships to connect to the electricity grid and turn off the on-board generators. It is a commitment - he recalled - that we had undertaken, also through dialogue and sharing with the administration which we are maintaining and which responds to the needs of the city, in particular of the districts overlooking the area where the Garibaldi Pier stands". In addition, Pisano has recalled that in the port of La Spezia "the overall plan relating to cold ironing is ambitious and provides for three other facilities, one serving the new cruise pier on Calata Paita and the other two at the service of the commercial part".