- MSC Cruises’ newest ship MSC Grandiosa will sport two major technological innovations to improve environmental sustainability.
- The cruise line will introduce Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) system onboard MSC Grandiosa.
- The SCR system will help reduce nitrogen oxide by 90 per cent through advanced active emissions control technology while the AWT system will transform wastewater from the ship into almost tap-water quality through a purification process.
- MSC Grandiosa will leave almost no environmental impact after complying with the International Maritime Organization’s environmental standards.
- To cut down on the ship’s air emissions while in port, MSC Grandiosa will feature shore-to-ship power.
- MSC Cruises has introduced other technologies across its fleet to minimise environmental impact.
- MSC Grandiosa, which will enter service on October 31, is the third Meraviglia class of ship to enter MSC Cruises’ fleet and the first of three Meraviglia-Plus ships.
PRESS RELEASE
MSC Cruises’ newest and most innovative ship to-date is due to enter service on 31 October and will see the line introduce two new major and important onboard environmental advances to complement a wide range of existing leading-edge environmental technologies across the company’s entire fleet: a state-of-the-art Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and next-generation Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) system.
MSC Grandiosa, which will be christened in Hamburg, Germany on 9 November, will feature an SCR system which helps reduce nitrogen oxide by 90 per cent through advanced active emissions control technology. Nitrogen oxide from the engine operations is conducted through a catalyst – a high-density device made from noble metals – and converts them into nitrogen and water, both harmless compounds.
The ship will also be fitted with a next-generation AWT system. Through very fine filtration, wastewater from MSC Grandiosa will undergo a comprehensive purification process that transforms it to near tap-water quality. The system meets the so-called ‘Baltic Standard’ and treats the wastewater to a higher standard than most waste standards available in cities around the world.
MSC Cruises’ next flagship will adhere, therefore, to the world’s strictest environmental standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which will lead to nearly zero impact in these areas. This will also allow MSC Grandiosa to be certified to operate in delicate environments such as the Baltic Sea and Alaska.
MSC Grandiosa will also be fitted with shore-to-ship power which connects cruise ships while at berth to a port’s local power grid to further reduce the ship’s air emissions while in port. This is a feature that is broadly available across MSC Cruises’ entire fleet and has come as standard across all its new builds since 2017.
These new features add to other effective environmental technologies deployed on the ship and across the Company’s fleet to minimise and continuously reduce environmental impact, including: cutting-edge hybrid Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) that remove sulphur oxide from ship emissions; advanced waste management and wastewater treatment systems; ballast water treatment systems; latest-technology systems for the prevention of oil discharges from machinery spaces and various state-of-the-art energy-efficiency improvements – from heat recovery systems to LED lighting.
Currently, MSC Grandiosa and 10 other ships in MSC Cruises’ fleet of 17 ships are equipped for cleaner emissions with hybrid EGCS’ which remove 98 per cent of sulphur dioxide from a ship’s exhausts. The line’s six other ships will be retrofitted with the technology by the end of 2021 and until then will rely on the use of low sulphur fuels to always fully comply with the strictest existing as well as new maritime regulations.
MSC Grandiosa, is the third Meraviglia class of ship to enter MSC Cruises’ fleet and the first of three Meraviglia-Plus ships. It will be MSC Cruises’ fifth new ship to enter into service in the past 30 months and is part of a plan to build 17 highly-innovative and environmentally-sound cruise ships between 2017 and 2027.
