“This is a significant step for the decarbonization of cruising”. The first liner built in France powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas), which is less harmful to health, will be delivered in mid-October to the Italian-Swiss shipowner MSC Croisières, we learned on Tuesday during its presentation to the Chantiers de Atlantic. “LNG is today the cleanest fuel available for ocean liners,” said Henri Doyer, director of MSC programs at Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
LNG reduces CO2 emissions by 20% and those of fine particles by 95% compared to heavy fuel oil, the main fuel used by ships, and does not emit sulfur dioxide. The Italian-Swiss cruise line and the Chantiers de l’Atlantique, which have been collaborating for more than twenty years, are opening with the MSC World Europe a more sustainable cycle: two other LNG-powered ships will be delivered in 2025 and 2027.
“Zero emissions” by 2050
This first boat, whose construction began at the end of 2019 and which will set sail in December, is billed for “more than a billion euros”, according to Chantiers de l’Atlantique. the MSC World Europe also includes a demonstrator of a new type of fuel cell running on LNG and capable of producing electricity. “For the moment, it produces 150 kilowatts, or the equivalent of the consumption of 300 passengers”, specifies Patrick Pourbaix, general manager of MSC Cruises France, who hopes to see this capacity increase in the coming years. The shipowner aims to achieve “zero emissions” by 2050.
“We are in the process of adapting existing boats to our environmental requirements. But we cannot achieve our goal without new technologies and low-emission fuels,” said Linden Coppell, CSR Manager at MSC Cruises. 333 meters long, 68 meters high, the MSC World Europe will be the largest in the owner’s fleet. Equipped with seven swimming pools and thirteen restaurants, it can accommodate more than 6,700 passengers and 2,100 crew members.