French shipbuilder and engineering company, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, has recently completed the installation of an Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS) on three MSC Cruises vessels.
To significantly reduce air emissions, Chantiers de l’Atlantique completed the last installation at Brindisi (Italy) on the cruise ship, ‘MSC Musica’.
This follows EGCS installations on ‘MSC Orchestra’ and ‘MSC Poesia’ in 2018 and 2019, respectively and was the 14th fitting to date to be fully managed by the Services Business Unit of Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
The fitting of the ECGS on board ‘MSC Musica’ was approved by class society Bureau Veritas (BV) as complying with MARPOL VI regulations. The system removes up to 97% of SOx from the exhaust gasses of three diesel generators delivering a total power of 11.6 MW.
This EGCS is a ‘hybrid type’, meaning that it can operate either in open or close loop, avoiding any discharge of washed water when in port and consequently any release of harmful effluents into the marine environment.
‘MSC Musica’ is a 92.409 gt cruise ship delivered in 2006 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique to MSC Cruises.
She was the third and last ship of the EGCS turnkey contract signed in 2016 for retrofit, including design, procurement, installation and commissioning.
François Lally, the shipyard’s Senior Vice President, Services Business Unit, said: “The completion of this contract demonstrates again the willingness of our company to support the ships we build throughout their operational lifecycle with the latest and most environmentally friendly upgrades. We believe this approach helps us to maintain and deepen existing customer relationships.”
Emilio La Scala, MSC Cruises’ President and Managing Director, added: “We continue to make every effort possible to reduce the environmental impact of our vessels by installing the latest technology like ECGS with the support of expert partners like Chantier de l’Atlantique.
“Sustainability remains at the heart of our business model and operations, and we will always look for ways to lead the global maritime and cruise industry in this regard,” he said.
