MSC Group's Cruise Division today reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to sustainability by pledging to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its cruise operations by 2050. This target, which will cover both MSC Cruises and the luxury brand Explora Journeys, goes beyond the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) ambition to reduce shipping emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 and puts the Company in a race to help accelerate the necessary technological and fuel developments.
MSC has signed the Getting to Zero Coalition 's Call to Action to accelerate the decarbonization of the maritime sector as a whole, including cruise ships. The call includes three key demands: establishing a zero-emission shipping target for 2050; deploying commercially viable zero-emission vessels by 2030; and joint action from the public and private sectors. This document will be delivered to governments worldwide in November 2021, ahead of COP26.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Group's Cruise Division, said: “As a family-owned company with over 300 years of maritime heritage, we have always felt a deep responsibility towards our marine environment and our planet. Today, we are taking our commitment a step further by embracing a net-zero emissions future over the next three decades. We will achieve this by investing in and supporting the development and implementation of innovative, cutting-edge technologies that will be deployed across our entire fleet, continuously raising the bar for environmental performance and leading our industry.”
“Collaboration between operators, shipyards, technology manufacturers, academic institutions, public authorities, and governments will be essential. There are already encouraging signs that these partnerships are making progress, but more can and must be done. I urge all parties to work tirelessly toward this goal and to bring about the next major energy transition in our industry,” he added.
In recent years, the Company has focused on reducing its GHG emissions intensity by introducing energy efficiency measures and operational improvements across its fleet. Having implemented annual efficiency improvements of 2 to 4% across the fleet, by 2019 the Company had achieved a 28% improvement in this area compared to 2008 and is well on track to meet the IMO's 40% emissions intensity reduction target for 2030.
Looking ahead, energy efficiency improvements and operational measures alone will not be enough to steer the shipping sector towards decarbonization. For this reason, the MSC Group's Cruise Division is actively helping to accelerate the significant technological evolution required. In this spirit, the Company is participating in several industry research projects that aim to develop the technologies and fuels that offer the potential to enable zero-emission vessels.
- Hydrogen-powered ships: MSC Cruises has recently partnered with leading shipbuilder Fincantieri and energy infrastructure company Snam to jointly determine the conditions for the design and construction of what could become the world's first hybrid hydrogen/LNG-powered ocean cruise ship, enabling zero-emission operations in certain areas. These conditions include arranging ship spaces to accommodate the necessary hydrogen technologies and fuel cells, identifying the technical parameters of onboard systems, calculating potential greenhouse gas emission savings, and conducting a technical and economic analysis of hydrogen supply and onshore infrastructure.
- Fuel cells in LNG-powered ships: Fuel cells offer great potential for significant reductions. Having ordered three ships that will run on LNG, a transitional fuel that offers up to 21% lower greenhouse gas emissions, the MSC Group is exploring the integration of fuel cells as a means to achieve even greater reductions. In 2019, the MSC Group's Cruise Division and Chantiers de l'Atlantique presented Blue Horizon, an innovative R&D project focused on integrating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology into LNG-powered cruise ships.
- Fuel cell technology feedback: MSC Group’s Cruise Division has also joined a consortium with GE Power Conversion, Lloyd’s Register, and Ceres Power Holdings to explore how to address the barriers to fuel cell adoption in large ship applications. The project will examine how fuel cells can be integrated into a vessel’s operational functionality, including existing power and propulsion architecture and layout, enabling the quantification of the impact of using fuel cell technology in terms of overall emissions reductions. The project has been funded under the UK Department for Transport’s Clean Shipping Demonstration Competition.
- Low-carbon ship technologies and design: MSC Group's Cruise Division is also collaborating with industry and academic leaders on a research project that promotes low-carbon shipping by combining progressive energy technologies with innovative ship design. Led by Vaasa University, the CHEK Consortium involves the World Maritime University, Wärtsilä, Cargill, and Lloyds Register, among others.
With this and other future projects, the MSC Group's Cruise Division will continue working towards a net-zero emissions future for itself and the entire cruise industry.
