The Port of Barcelona will welcome the MSC Grandiosa for the first time tomorrow, one of the most environmentally friendly ships to date. The arrival of MSC Cruises' newest flagship comes 10 days after the company announced it would become the world's first carbon-neutral , starting January 1, 2020.
MSC Grandiosa was delivered on October 31st at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique (CdA) shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and is equipped with advanced environmental technologies and related solutions. With this ship, MSC Cruises has taken another important step on its journey towards zero-emission operations.
On board this impressive ship, which has a capacity for 6,334 passengers, a special inauguration event will be organized to welcome travel agents, tour operators and travel agency owners to commemorate the first entry into port and receive, among other activities, educational sessions on the company's environmental protection practices.
MSC Grandiosa, christened in Hamburg, Germany, on November 9, features an advanced selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that helps reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 80% through advanced emissions control technology. Nitrogen oxides from engine operation are directed through a catalyst (a high-density device made from noble metals) and converted into nitrogen and water, both harmless components.
In addition, MSC Grandiosa will incorporate a shore power system that connects the cruise ship, while docked, to a port's local power grid to further reduce – potentially to zero – the ship's emissions while moored. This feature has been standard on all new MSC Cruises ships since 2017.
These new features complement other effective environmental technologies that have been implemented on the ship, as well as across the company's fleet, to minimize and continuously reduce environmental impact. These include: state-of-the-art exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) that remove up to 97% of sulfur oxides from ship emissions; advanced waste management and wastewater treatment systems; ballast water treatment systems; and cutting-edge systems for preventing waste discharges from machinery spaces. There are also various state-of-the-art energy efficiency improvements, ranging from heat recovery systems to LED lighting.
The delivery ceremony of the MSC Grandiosa, which took place on October 31, coincided with the steel-cutting ceremony of the MSC Europa, powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will become the first example of the new, futuristic, internationally best-quality prototype to join the fleet in May 2022, as well as being one of a total of five LNG-powered ships planned for MSC Cruises.
MSC Cruises has also unveiled a groundbreaking R&D project in collaboration with Chantiers de L'Atlantique, called PACBOAT, which will focus on integrating a new fuel cell technology on board the LNG-powered MSC Europa. This unprecedented technology is particularly well-suited for high-power maritime operations, especially cruise ships. It also demonstrates the company's commitment to supporting the accelerated development of advanced environmental technologies, benefiting not only its own operations but the entire industry.
Currently, MSC Grandiosa, like ten other ships in the MSC Cruises fleet of 17, is equipped to produce cleaner emissions thanks to a hybrid (closed-loop) EGCS system. The company's other six ships will be retrofitted with this technology by the end of 2023, relying until then on the use of low-sulfur fuels to ensure compliance with the strictest current and future maritime regulations.
Last week, at the christening of MSC Grandiosa in Hamburg, MSC Cruises announced that it will offset all direct carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its fleet's maritime operations through a mix of carbon offset projects developed according to the highest standards by leading international organizations taking immediate action on greenhouse gas emissions. All offset costs, as well as any other associated expenses, will be covered directly and in full by the company.
Specifically, MSC Cruises stated that its goal is to develop a carbon offset portfolio that incorporates projects protecting and restoring ocean and coastal habitats while absorbing more CO2 than is currently produced. Given the scarcity of Blue Carbon projects focused primarily on coastal habitats, MSC's own cruise ships will support the development of what are intended to be the first carbon credits generated from the Earth's vast ocean, providing a significant new means to protect and enhance marine biodiversity and support communities that depend on the highly pressurized resources of the sea.
At the time of the announcement, MSC Cruises CEO Pierfrancesco Vago commented: “Recognizing that the most advanced maritime environmental technology alone is insufficient to immediately achieve carbon neutrality, the commitment we are announcing today, which will be implemented from January 1, 2020, ensures that our fleet will not contribute negatively to climate change. We are a company with over 300 years of maritime heritage and a long-term, historically grounded approach, especially characteristic of family-owned businesses like ours. For us, this is another step forward in our long-standing commitment to protecting the oceans, the destinations where we operate, and the port communities we visit. At the same time, we remain firmly committed to investing in the accelerated development of next-generation technologies that will lead us and this industry to zero-emission maritime operations.”
MSC Grandiosa will be based in the Western Mediterranean for its first 12 months, before moving to South America to spend the winter of 2020.
