shipto date will enter service on October 31 and will introduce two important new environmental advancements on board to complement a wide range of cutting-edge environmental technologies existing throughout the company's fleet: a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system and the latest generation advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) system.
MSC Grandiosa, to be christened in Hamburg, Germany on November 9, will feature an SCR system that helps reduce nitrogen oxides by 90 percent through advanced active emissions control technology. Nitrogen oxides from engine operations will be directed through a catalyst, a high-density device made of noble metals, and converted into nitrogen and water, both harmless compounds.
The ship will also be equipped with a next-generation AWT system. Through very fine filtration, wastewater from the MSC Grandiosa will undergo a comprehensive purification process, transforming it into water of near-perfect quality, similar to that found in city drinking water.
The system complies with the strictest regulations required in the Baltic Sea and treats wastewater to a higher standard than most waste regulations in cities around the world.
MSC Cruises' next flagship will therefore adhere to the world's strictest environmental standards, set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), resulting in a near-zero impact on these areas. This will also allow MSC Grandiosa to be certified to operate in geographical areas with additional regulations, such as the Baltic Sea and Alaska.
MSC Grandiosa will also be equipped with shore-to-ship power, connecting the cruise ship to a port's local electricity grid to further reduce air emissions while the ship is docked. This feature is available on almost the entire MSC Cruises fleet and has become standard on all new builds since 2017.
These new features complement other environmental technologies, implemented on the ship and across the Company's fleet, to minimize and continuously reduce environmental impact, including: hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS), which remove sulfur oxides from the ship's emissions; advanced waste management and wastewater treatment systems; ballast water treatment systems; state-of-the-art systems for preventing oil discharges from machinery spaces; and various cutting-edge energy efficiency improvements, from heat recovery systems to LED lighting.
Currently, MSC Grandiosa and 10 other ships in MSC Cruises' 17-ship fleet are equipped to produce cleaner emissions with EGCS hybrids, which eliminate 98 percent of sulfur dioxide from a ship's exhaust. The line's other six ships will be retrofitted by the end of 2021 and, until then, will rely on the use of low-sulfur fuels to comply with the strictest maritime regulations, both existing and new.
MSC Grandiosa is the third Meraviglia-class ship to join the MSC Cruises fleet and the first of three Meraviglia-Plus ships. It will be the fifth new MSC Cruises ship to enter service in the last 30 months and is part of a plan to build 17 highly innovative and environmentally friendly cruise ships between 2017 and 2027.
