Making LNG Happen: Combining Forces for Sustainable Shipping was hosted aboard the AIDAprima in Rotterdam on Thursday.

The guests included Dirk Brengelmann, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Netherlands and his Norwegian colleague Martin Sørby.

The AIDAprima features a dual-fuel powerplant capable of burning LNG in port. The ship is provided with LNG while docked at all ports on its route – Hamburg, Rotterdam, Le Havre, Southampton and Zeebrugge.

“This is a significant contribution to environmental protection, since an AIDA ship spends about 40 percent of its operating time in a port. Compared to using conventional marine diesel with 0.1 percent sulfur content, emissions are considerably reduced even further by using LNG. Sulfur oxides and soot particles can be prevented completely. Nitrogen oxide emission is reduced by up to 80 percent and CO2 emissions are lowered by 20 percent,” said AIDA in a statement.

“We believe in LNG as the fuel with the lowest emissions that is currently available and have been performing pioneering work in this area for many years. In the summer of 2015 we announced that we will be the first cruise company worldwide to operate the ships of the next AIDA generation – which are being built at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg and commissioned as of 2019 – 100 percent with LNG. We are pleased that other cruise lines are now also following our example and have ordered new constructions with LNG fuel as well,” said Dr. Monika Griefahn, Chief Sustainable Officer AIDA Cruises at the trade conference in Rotterdam.

“However, we also need the support of the ports and LNG producers to invest in the necessary infrastructure,” Dr. Griefahn continued.

AIDA Cruises invested in the research and testing of applications to use LNG in cruise ships early on. It collaborated on a LNG hybrid barge with Becker Marine Systems in 2013 to develop and launch an innovative and flexible solution for providing environmentally friendly energy to the ships using liquefied gas while they are moored in the Hamburg harbor. Since May 2015, the AIDAsol has been supplied with low-emission power from liquefied gas (LNG) at the Hafencity Cruise Terminal.