The municipality had in mind the cruise ship GNV Aurelia to accommodate nearly 1,100 refugees from Ukraine. But the nitrogen emissions are too great. It is an older ship that cannot be connected to shore power, so it is dependent on generators that emit nitrogen. All nitrogen-limiting measures have been investigated, mayor Jan Hamming reports, but these offer insufficient possibilities to limit emissions within the applicable nitrogen standards.
The municipality will continue to look for a place to provide shelter for Ukrainians. The deployment of a ship remains possible. Zaanstad considers this an attractive option because it does not cost any construction time and can be immediately removed when the shelter is no longer needed.