Onshore power supply in accordance with IEC80005-1

More and more ships are being supplied with electricity from land during their stay in harbours. This should significantly reduce noise and particulate emissions from running diesel engines in harbours. 

Supplying power to ships via a shore connection poses a number of challenges. Ship movements, tidal range and other influences such as weather and corrosion put a great deal of strain on the cables used. The biggest challenge is to ensure the connection of the protective earth conductor (PE) during the shore power supply.

This is because if a short-circuit occurs on board the ship during the shore power supply, the short-circuit current flows via the protective earth conductor (PE). If the PE connection from the ship to the shore were interrupted at this moment, the short-circuit current would flow to the shore via the hull, the neighbouring seawater and the gangway. There is then a danger to life for passengers and crew due to high contact voltage (electric shock).  

For this reason, IEC 80005-1 stipulates that the PE connection from ship to shore must be permanently monitored. If the PE is interrupted, the shore power supply to the ship must also be interrupted.  

The GM401 ensures that the equipotential bonding between ship and shore is guaranteed. If the PE is interrupted, the power supply to the ship is also interrupted. This prevents the short-circuit current from being discharged via the ship's hull or gangway in the event of an electrical fault on board and putting passengers and crew in danger.  

The GM401 can be used for medium-voltage and low-voltage applications (IEC80005-3) and can be easily integrated and mounted on the top-hat rail in the control cabinet of the shore connection. This saves time and money and simplifies installation considerably. The GM401 can then be configured easily and without complex programming.