MSC Cruises’ new ship – MSC World Europa – has arrived in Europe to commence her first summer season in the Mediterranean, having spent her maiden season in the Arabian Gulf. Delivered in October 2022 by French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique, MSC World Europa is MSC Cruises’ largest vessel and the first to be powered by LNG. It is also the best performing large cruise ship operating in the world in terms of CO2eq emissions per passenger.
“It is with great pride that we welcome MSC World Europa in Europe as she starts her first summer season in the Mediterranean. This groundbreaking vessel is a testimony of our unwavering commitment to sustainable cruising, with a range of unprecedented innovations in terms of environmental and marine technologies. MSC World Europa represents a major step forward on our journey towards meeting our target of net-zero emissions by 2050,” said an MSC spokesperson.
LNG is the cleanest marine fuel currently available at scale. Compared to standard marine fuels, LNG virtually eliminates local air pollutant emissions – including SOx and fine particles – and reduces NOx by up to 85%. LNG also plays a key role in climate change mitigation as it offers up to a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and is paving the way for the uptake of sustainable non-fossil fuels such as bio- and synthetic LNG.
Moreover, MSC World Europa is the world’s first contemporary cruise ship to feature brand new solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology powered by LNG. The ship includes a 150-kilowatt SOFC demonstrator that uses LNG to produce electricity and heat on board in a highly efficient way by means of an electrochemical reaction.
“Nearly six months into testing, the fuel cell performance has been excellent, and we haven’t seen any signs of safety or maintenance issues. The efficiency to date – measured in terms of the energy we can generate from the same unit of fuel – is well above that of an internal combustion engine and has exceeded our expectations. We have operated the system continually and it has delivered a steady output even better than our forecast 150-kilowatt return. Obviously, this is a small fraction of the energy we need but we are confident that the system can be scaled up on future newbuilds. We recognize that this will requires close collaboration with partners across and outside of our industry, which is why MSC Cruises is actively involved in several different research initiatives and partnerships that all share the common objective of accelerating the transition toward a net-zero future,” said Linden Coppell, Vice President of Sustainability & ESG at MSC Cruises.
MSC World Europa will offer 7-night itineraries calling at the Italian ports of Genoa, Naples and Messina, as well as Valletta in Malta, Barcelona in Spain and Marseille in France.
Source: MSC Cruises
