As part of efforts of investing in a greener future and embracing the concept of sustainable tourism, MSC Cruises announced that it will be adding 2 more liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessels to its fleet in the near future.

The cruise line revealed that it ordered two more world class energy efficient ships from French ship builder, Chantiers de l’Atlantique which are set to be delivered in 2026 and 2027.

It’s current two, MSC World Europa and MSC World America are already the most energy efficient ships in the industry performing significantly better than the International Maritime Organization Energy Efficiency Design Index.

The new ships will will offer even more innovative solutions to maximise the energy efficiency, with extensive use of heat recovery and other technological solutions.

It said the vessels would have an even further reduced carbon footprint while the the new ships could run on a variety of alternative fuels including bio and synthetic methane and green methanol.

The ships will also be fitted with the next generation dual fuel internal combustion engines with reduced methane slip.

Executive Chairman, Pierfrancesco Vago, said they are proud to continue their 20-year partnership with Chantiers de l’Atlantique, with whom they have already built 18 ships with their 19th under construction.

“This is a truly innovative prototype and together we are building some of the most advanced ships in the world.

“We are committed to researching and investing in future environmental technologies as they become available, to ensure we continue progressing on our decarbonisation journey to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” said Vago.

Chantiers de l’Atlantique general manager Laurent Castaing, said that MSC Cruises has shown its confidence in their abilities and skills with this order during a difficult time for the European shipbuilding industry.

“We would therefore like to express our gratitude to MSC Cruises for its renewed confidence.

“In addition, MSC Cruises, always seeking to reduce the environmental impact of its ships quickly and significantly, has accepted a significant cost premium to improve the energy efficiency of these new ships which will emit 50% less CO2 than the IMO’s 2008 benchmark,” said Castaing.

MSC Cruises also said that the new World Class vessels will feature shore power plug-in connectivity to reduce carbon emissions in port, the most advanced wastewater treatment systems designed in line with the IMO, new advances in waste management, and a comprehensive range of onboard energy efficient equipment to optimise engine use and hotel energy needs to further reduce emissions.

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