MSC Cruises recently confirmed orders for two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessels with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique. This move sees the company’s options for two world-class vessels converted to firm orders and an opportunity for a fifth ship. The two new vessels—currently referred to as World Class 3 and 4—will be delivered in 2026 and 2027.
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’s (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) requirement. The newly ordered ships will evolve the state-of-the-art world-class prototype with innovative solutions to maximize energy efficiency, including extensive heat recovery and other technological solutions, which will further reduce their carbon footprint. The new ships will also be ready for alternative fuels like bio and synthetic methane and green methanol. Moreover, these new ships will be fitted with the next-generation dual fuel internal combustion engines with reduced methane slip.
MSC Cruises’ first LNG ship, MSC World Europa, was launched in November 2022. Chantiers de l’Atlantique will deliver the MSC World America in spring 2025, designed for the North American cruise market. The vessel is being built at Saint-Nazaire, France’s Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard. Last month, it reached a construction milestone when LNG tanks were installed. MSC Euribia, a Meraviglia class ship constructed by the French shipbuilder, is also powered by LNG and entered service in June 2023.
Cleanest marine fuel available at scale
LNG is the world’s cleanest marine fuel available at scale today and is set to play a vital role in the decarbonization of international shipping. It substantially reduces local air pollutant emissions like sulfur oxides by up to 99% and nitrogen oxides by up to 85%. LNG also plays a crucial role in climate change mitigation as it offers up to a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and paves the way for the uptake of sustainable non-fossil fuels such as bio and synthetic LNG.
As bio and synthetic fuels become available at scale, emissions from MSC Cruises’ world-class vessels will be further reduced. LNG is essential to developing low-carbon solutions for shipping as emerging technologies such as fuel cells can be operated with LNG until zero emissions bio-LNG, e-methane, or green methanol become available at scale.
MSC Cruises has long been committed to environmental stewardship, aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The company is also a significant investor in next-generation environmental marine technologies, aiming to support their accelerated development and availability industry-wide.
“We are proud to continue our 20-year partnership with the Chantiers de l’Atlantique, with whom we have already built 18 ships with our 19th under construction. The World Class 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 decarbonization journey to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises executive chair.
MSC Cruises is the world’s third-largest cruise brand and the market leader in Europe, South America, the Gulf region, and Southern Africa. It is also the fastest-growing global cruise brand with a strong presence in the Caribbean, North America, and the Far East markets.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, MSC Cruises is one of the two brands within the Cruise Division of MSC Group, the world’s leading and privately held shipping and logistics conglomerate with over 300 years of maritime heritage. MSC Cruises—the contemporary brand—has a modern fleet of 22 vessels combined with a sizable future global investment portfolio of new ships, terminals, and other assets. The fleet is projected to grow to 23 cruise ships by 2025, with options for six more vessel orders in place through 2030.
MSC Cruises offers its guests an enriching, immersive, and safe cruise experience inspired by the Company’s European heritage, where they can enjoy international dining, world-class entertainment, award-winning family programs, and the latest user-friendly technology on board.
The line’s number one priority has always been the health and safety of its guests and crew and the communities at the destinations its ships serve. In August 2020, MSC Cruises implemented a new comprehensive and robust health and safety protocol to become the first significant line to return to sea.
Laurent Castaing, Chantiers de l’Atlantique general manager, shared, “At a difficult time for the European shipbuilding industry, MSC Cruises has shown its confidence in our abilities and skills with this order. We would therefore like to express our gratitude to MSC Cruises for its renewed confidence at this crucial time. 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, according to the IMO’s EEDI index, will emit 50% less CO2 than the IMO’s 2008 benchmark.”
Castaing continued, “We would also like to thank our government, whose support for our R&D policy to make our ships greener has enabled us to meet the customer’s expectations for this order.”
With the expertise of its teams and its network of subcontractors, combined with top industrial technology, Chantiers de l’Atlantique is a critical leader in the design, integration, testing, and precise delivery of cruise ships, naval vessels, electrical substations for offshore wind farms and fleet services. The company is a pioneer in the challenges of tomorrow. Thanks to its research and development, Chantiers de l’Atlantique offers ships with the highest environmental performance and equipment for offshore wind farms, making it a significant player in the global energy transition.
MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique are actively involved in several projects to develop and make these technologies viable in partnership with regulators, academia, and industry.
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 optimize engine use and hotel energy needs to reduce emissions further. (Story and photos courtesy of MSC Cruises)