MSC Cruises Details Future Shore Power Strategy

MSC Cruises has identified more than a dozen ports where its ships will soon be able to use shore power while vessels are docked, substantially reducing emissions. The cruise line’s ships are already using shore power or are testing the system at several European ports.

Line Identifies 15 Ports For Local Grid Connection

MSC Cruises announced the next phase of its shore power plan on June 14, identifying 15 additional ports in Europe and the US where its ships will be able to connect to shore power between 2024 and 2026.

The plan includes five ports in Italy; Barcelona and Valencia, Spain; Stavanger and Norfjordied, Norway; Miami; Copenhagen, Denmark; Marseille, France; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Valletta, Malta, and Stockholm, Sweden.

Shore power connections have been installed on all of MSC Cruises’ new ships constructed since 2017, and other vessels have been retrofitted with the system, making 67% of the MSC Cruises fleet currently equipped with the technology.

Additionally, all ships in the cruise company’s new luxury brand, Explora Journeys, will be fitted with shore power capabilities. Explora Journeys’ first ship, Explora I, is due to enter service in July 2023, with five additional vessels to follow in the next five years.

MSC Cruises Moves Toward 100% Net-Zero

The ability to connect to shore power allows cruise ships to turn off their engines while in port while continuing to run hotel services on board.

MSC Cruises said it intends to use shore power at every port where it is available as part of the line’s goal to be 100% net-zero on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“We have invested heavily in hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems to substantially reduce local air quality emissions and we now need more ports across Europe and beyond to introduce shore power as quickly as possible,” said Linden Coppell, MSC Cruises’ vice president of sustainability. 

“By making major reductions to emissions in ports, we are fulfilling our responsibility to the ports and coastal communities that our ships visit and serve,” he added.

MSC Cruises’ ships since early this year, have used local grid shore power at Southampton, UK, and Kristiansand, Norway. In summer 2023, the line will test shore power at the Norwegian port of Haugesund, and later this year, shore power trials are slated at the ports in Bergen and Alesund, Norway, and at Warnemunde, Germany.

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The cruise line’s ships will connect to shore power at two other German ports, Hamburg in the winter of 2023 and Kiel in the summer of 2024.

MSC Cruises also hopes to advance the installation of shore power at Baltic Sea ports, and last year signed an agreement with Cruise Baltic to have shore power widely available in ports in the region by 2024.

MSC Euribia Considered Most Energy Efficient

MSC Cruises last week launched its newest ship, MSC Euribia, which features the most energy-efficient technology in the industry. The ship operates on liquified natural gas (LNG) and low-sulfur marine gas oil.

In addition to her LNG-powered engines, MSC Euribia is designed to incorporate future environmental sustainability innovations, such as carbon-neutral synthetic and alternative fuels. The ship was built with advanced onboard wastewater treatment and waste management systems.

MSC Euribia was christened in Copenhagen on June 8. The 184,011-gross-ton ship accommodates up to 6,334 guests. The ship will spend her inaugural season in Northern Europe this summer, operating 7-night cruises from Kiel, Germany and Copenhagen to the Norwegian Fjords.

Explora Journeys, meanwhile, has committed to green technologies for its future ships. While the luxury brand’s first two ships will be traditionally powered, Explora III and Explora IV will be powered by LNG and hydrogen, eliminating many air pollutant emissions.

Explora V and Explora VI also will be powered by a combination of LNG and hydrogen, and will contain a six-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell, a technology that eliminates all emissions while ships are in port.