337 meters in length are not unusual for a cruise ship, but propulsion with liquefied natural gas (LNG) is. At the beginning of December, Meyer Werft in Finland handed over the new building Costa Toscana to the shipping company. Michael Thamm, head of the Costa Group, to which Aida also belongs, explains how the cruise industry wants to become climate neutral in the medium term.
Michael Thamm, head of the Costa Group, to which Aida Cruises also belongs.
(Photo: Christian Charisius / picture alliance / dpa)
SZ: Mr. Thamm, the entire Mediterranean area is to become an environmental zone. How are the ships appropriately clean?
Michael Thamm: The Costa Toscana is an LNG ship and sails completely without sulfur emissions. More than ten years ago, the Costa Group was the first cruise line in the world to decide to build LNG ships.
the Costa Toscana is the second LNG ship at Costa. At Aida, a second LNG ship will also join the fleet in 2022. Climate activists complain that LNG is also a fossil fuel. Is the industry lagging behind?
LNG is a bridging technology, but it is the most modern and cleanest technology available today. No sulfur dioxide, no fine dust, no soot particles, significantly fewer nitrogen oxides and more than 20 percent less CO2 are produced during combustion. That is progress. At the same time, we are working intensively on non-fossil fuels.
Cruise ships continue to emit climate-damaging carbon dioxide.
That’s right, but we’re already reducing it significantly. Our journey to the green cruise has only just begun. In order to achieve the goal, there will probably not be one technology. We are working on solutions with fuel cells, with large battery systems and alternative fuels. And the moment we have access to alternative fuels in sufficient quantities, we use them too. The ships of the XL class, which also includes the Costa Toscana heard, can drive with non-fossil fuels in the future.
Alternative fuels are currently only available in tiny amounts and are insufficiently energy efficient.
That’s right. A lot will happen in this area over the next few years. At the same time, we are starting to install battery systems on board our ships and pushing ahead with the expansion of shore power systems in our most important ports.
Although these batteries are huge, their energy supply is relatively low.
The battery lasts about two hours, so you can enter and mooring in ports with zero emissions, or even enter a fjord. With the shore power system, the batteries in the port are recharged with green energy and used for sailing. That is the current status, but the development continues. We are also working on fuel cells. Next year, fuel cells will be on the Aida Nova to be installed. We want to learn from the company and further develop this technology in order to make it suitable for series production.
Is the price explosion for natural gas having an impact on cruise prices?
Of course, increased fuel prices are a problem for us, as well as for every consumer. We decided to use LNG technology for environmental reasons and we do it regardless of fuel prices.
Across all sectors, the cruise industry has set the year 2030 as the target for the first climate-neutral cruise ship. Is the Costa Group there?
Our plan is to put the first climate-neutral ship into operation in 2030. By 2040, the entire fleet of the Costa Group should be emission-free.
Have you ever sought government subsidies?
I don’t believe in subsidies. I would rather see if we could better place the importance of the cruise industry for our country in the government.
Is the new government a cause for hope or for concern?
I am glad that this new government exists. We have had good experiences with the three-party coalition with the participation of the Greens in Schleswig-Holstein. In a joint public-private partnership project, we have managed to set up a shore power system in Kiel and use it consistently. But we definitely see other ways in which we can get an entire industry out of Germany on a sustainable development path.
Which for example?
In 2018 we generated 0.1 percent of the gross national product in Germany. Costa and Aida represent 60 percent of the German cruise market. We are responsible for 30,000 employees in our company. In tourism and the maritime economy, we can prove that a company with a green agenda can make money and be an attractive employer.
Germany is not a seafaring nation.
We don’t see it that way. Hamburg is one of the leading maritime locations worldwide. From here we operate the largest cruise fleet in Europe. We hope our new government understands the value of the cruise industry to our country. In Italy they know how important the industry is and how many jobs depend on this tourism segment.
How much does she have Costa Toscana actually tasted?
More than a billion euros.
Hasn’t the company overwhelmed this huge sum?
For us, the investments in the four LNG ships are also an expression of the fact that we see a good long-term future for our company and its employees. Eventually the Costa Toscana have been on the oceans for our company for several decades.