![](https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/250823-Malta-underwater-jackhammer.jpg)
Industrial equipment maker Atlas Copco has shared pictures of its underwater pneumatic drill being used to break up rocks under Malta’s Grand Harbour.
The plan is to lay 800m-long cables under the harbour floor to bring electricity to docked cruise and cargo ships.
That will let them switch off their heavy-fuel generators and plug in to shoreside electricity while berthed.
Malta is spending €49.9m on its Grand Harbour Clean Air Project, which it says will cut more than 90% of cruise liners’ emissions of polluting nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, and particulate matter. It will also cut nearly 40% of liners’ carbon dioxide emissions.
![](https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Malta-underwater-clearing.jpg)
Atlas Copco says its LH 390 handheld hydraulic breaker weighs 33kg and delivers 125 bar of pressure.
It can withstand corrosive seawater thanks to its coating of anti-corrosion and anti-rust paint.
Turkish underwater contractor Pina Dalgıçlık İnşaat San and Trade (PDIST) is conducting the work to prepare the ground for the cables.