MSC Cruises has identified more than a dozen ports where its ships will soon be able to use shore power while the ships are docked, significantly reducing emissions. Ships are already using shore power or are testing the system in a number of European ports.
Line Identifies 15 Local Grid Connection Ports
MSC Cruises announced the next phase of its shore power plans on June 14, identifying 15 more ports in Europe and the US where its ships can connect to shore power between 2024 and 2026.
The plan includes five ports in Italy; Barcelona and Valencia, Spain; Stavanger and Norfjord, Norway; Miami; Copenhagen, Denmark; Marseille, France; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Valletta, Malta, and Stockholm, Sweden.
Shore power connections have been installed on all MSC Cruises ships built since 2017, and other ships have also been retrofitted with the system, making up 67% of MSC Cruises Group now they have modern equipment.
In addition, all ships in the cruise company’s new brand, Explora Journeys, will be powered by shore power. Explora Journeys’ first cruise, Explora Ibecause enter service in July 2023with five more ships to follow in the next five years.
MSC Cruises Goes To 100% Net-Zero
The ability to connect to shore power allows cruise ships to shut down their engines while in port while continuing to operate hotel services.
MSC Cruises said it intends to use energy from the shores of each port where it is available as part of the line’s goal to be 100% net-zero in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“We have invested heavily in gas scrubbers to reduce emissions in the region and now we need more ports in Europe and beyond to develop offshore energy as quickly as possible,” said Linden Coppell, vice president of MSC Cruises.
“By significantly reducing emissions in ports, we are fulfilling our responsibility to the ports and coastal areas that our ships visit and serve,” he added.
MSC Cruises ships have since the beginning of this year, used off-grid power in Southampton, UK, and Kristiansand, Norway. In the summer of 2023, the line will test coastal power at the port of Haugesund in Norway, and at the end of this year, coastal power tests will be installed in the ports of Bergen and Alesund, Norway, and in Warnemunde, Germany.
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The ships will join the coastal forces at two other German ports, Hamburg in the winter of 2023 and Kiel in the summer of 2024.
MSC Cruises also hopes to improve the implementation of shore power in the ports of the Baltic Sea, and last year signed an agreement with Cruise Baltic to make shore power available in most ports in the region by 2024.
MSC Euribia They are considered to be very energy efficient
MSC Cruises last week launched its new ship, MSC Euribia, which features the most energy-efficient technology in the industry. The ship operates on natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur marine fuel.
In addition to its LNG-powered engines, MSC Euribia It has been designed to include future renewable energy sources, such as carbon-neutral synthetic and other fuels. The ship was built with advanced wastewater treatment and waste management systems.
MSC Euribia bath baptized in Copenhagen on June 8. The 184,011 ton ship holds 6,334 guests. The ship will spend its inaugural season in Northern Europe this summer, operating 7-night cruises from Kiel, Germany and Copenhagen to the Norwegian Fjords.
Explora Journeys, meanwhile, is committed to green technologies on its future ships. Although the first two ships of the elite class will have power, See III and See IV it will be powered by LNG and hydrogen, eliminating many of the greenhouse gas emissions.
Research V and See VI it will also be powered by a combination of LNG and hydrogen, and will have a six-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell, a technology that removes all emissions while ships are in port.
