MSC Cruises is to add at least 15 new ports to its list of those with shore power plug in equipment between 2024 and 2026.
They include five Italian ports, Barcelona and Valencia in Spain, Stavanger and Norfjord in Norway, Miami (Fla), Copenhagen in Denmark, Marseille in France, Rotterdam in Holland, Valletta in Malta and the Swedish port of Stockholm.
Both MSC Cruises and sister company, Explora Journeys will fully utilise all the other shore power facilities at their ports of call when they are available.
By using shore power, the ships’ engines can be turned off, which drastically reduces in-port emissions from the vessels.
Since February, 2023, MSC Cruises has used shore power at Southampton (UK) and Kristiansand (Norway) and later this summer, shore power connections will be tested at Haugesund, also in Norway.
Other European trials this year are planned for several MSC cruise ships at Bergen and Aalesund in Norway, plus the German port of Warnemuende/Rostock. MSC said that it will also use shore power in the German ports of Hamburg this winter and Kiel next summer.
Last year, MSC Cruises signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cruise Baltic for shore power in the Baltic sea area. Cruise Baltic has 32 port and harbour members in the region and is committed to increasing the number of shore power connections.
Shore power connections have been fitted to every new MSC ship as standard since 2017 and together with retrofits completed on other vessels, 67% of the total fleet is equipped with this technology.
More ships will be retrofitted as and when the shore power becomes available on their itineraries.
In addition, all of the Explora Journey’s newbuildings will be fitted with the equipment necessary.
Linden Coppell, MSC Cruises’ Vice President Sustainability and ESG, said: “Shore power is an important factor on our journey towards net zero greenhouse (GHG) gas operations.
“All of our newbuildings since 2017 are equipped with the ability to plug into local power grids and we are rolling out retrofits on the other vessels in our fleet.
“Our shore power plan actively demonstrates our ambition and that we are fully committed to reduce emissions from our ships, including while in ports.
“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.
“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.
“Together with the use of LNG fuel, improving energy efficiency, utilising innovative wastewater treatment and waste recycling, we are making positive strides in playing our part to address climate change and protect ocean biodiversity,” he said.
MSC Cruises’ latest flagship, ‘MSC Euribia’ features the most energy efficient cruise ship design thus far and performed an industry first recently when she sailed from France to Denmark and demonstrated the potential to achieve net zero GHG emissions cruising, through the use of bio-LNG.
