The Cruise Division of MSC Group and shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique today celebrated the delivery of MSC Euribia for the Company’s MSC Cruises brand, a vessel that features the most energy-efficient cruise ship design ever, according to a press release.
The delivery at the Saint-Nazaire yard in France marked yet another step on the journey to decarbonize the Cruise Division’s fleet and effectively demonstrates what the future of cruising will look like.
The company said that the MSC Euribia is the final evolution of the popular Meraviglia class and the second ship for MSC Cruises to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the cleanest and most efficient fuel available currently commercially at scale.
She delivers even greater efficiencies and is expected to be the best-performing cruise ship in the world, performing beyond the latest International Maritime Organization (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) requirements.
When in service, the vessel will emit up to 19 percent less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per passenger per day than her sisterships that use conventional marine fuels.
This amounts to 44 percent less GHG per passenger per day than ships built only 10 years ago according to MSC.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of the Cruise Division of MSC Group, said: “With the delivery of MSC Euribia, we have taken yet another huge step towards our net zero GHG emissions goal. Alongside her many best-in-class environmental innovations, MSC Euribia features a truly groundbreaking energy efficient design that will deliver huge reduction in GHG emissions throughout her lifetime.
“Often the focus of decarbonization is solely on supply side measures, and although they are an important part of the energy transition, we must not forget the essential role that energy efficiency will play in reducing energy demand today. The cleanest energy is the energy that we don’t use and MSC Euribia has been constructed with this principle at its heart. This is why she marks with her coming into service such an important milestone toward our goal of achieving net zero GHG marine operations by 2050.”
Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique added: “I am very proud of the strength of the relationship between MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique. This fifth and last ship of the Meraviglia Class marks the conclusion of what is already a very efficient series and the continuation of our common environmentally innovative projects.”
Although the vessel can be powered using LNG, the ship design can today accommodate drop-in renewable fuels with retrofits that will enable MSC Cruises to use renewable fuels that are not yet available currently such as green methanol.
Vago added: “It’s important to us that our ships being built today are ready to accommodate the new sustainable fuels that are on the horizon. We also want to ensure they can easily be retrofitted with new technology and new efficiencies that will help deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions. This is a ship truly built with the future in mind.”
