The MSC World Europe, the first transatlantic built in France powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas), presented as the least polluting of the world fleet, was delivered this Monday in Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), before leaving for Qatar where It will serve as a floating hotel during the World Cup.
“This ship represents a new step in drafting the environmental impact of ocean liners. This ship is the ship with the lowest CO2 emissions per tonne of tonnage of the entire world transatlantic fleet, she is a world record”, argued Laurent Castaing, CEO of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, during the delivery ceremony. The giant of the seas, inaugurated in June 2018 by the Swiss shipping company MSC, is 333 meters long, 68 meters high and has a capacity for 6,700 passengers.
“Instead of the ship and the propulsion running on fuel oil, we replace it with gas. That means, in terms of environmental efficiency, automatically, in equivalence with fuel oil, it’s 25% less CO2,” said Patrick Pourbaix, manager France Director at MSC Cruises. MSC World Europe also uses a fuel cell prototype, with a capacity of 150 kilowatts, a world first for a ship running on LNG according to MSC Cruises.
“On this ship we have an area of the ship that we call the Yacht Club. It is a somewhat special area, it is a bit like a ship within a ship, a very pleasant formula, which can accommodate 300 passengers. Eh well, the equivalent of what a fuel cell can produce is what the Yacht Club absolutely needs,” Patrick Pourbaix explained.
There is no “zero emissions” ship yet
“Liquefied natural gas reduces almost all sulfur oxide emissions,” acknowledged Fanny Pointet, head of maritime transport in France for the NGO Transport and Environment, which AFP joins. But “the promotion of gas in maritime transport is not a good idea, because in terms of the climate it is bad, in terms of energy security it is bad,” she said nuancedly, insisting that “Europe is trying to emancipate itself.” of its dependence on Russia for gas.”
“If we choose the option of natural gas (…) it is because today it is the most accessible fuel. Perhaps we could accelerate the transition to hydrogen. The problem is that today we do not find enough hydrogen on Earth to power our ships “, emphasized Patrick Pourbaix. “Today, our order book only includes ships that can use LNG or methanol. Today, the version that can be classified as ‘green’, that is, non-emissive, of these fuels, still it does not exist. But as soon as we have these fuels in a zero-emission form, we will be able to use them and we will be able to have zero-emission ships”, assured Laurent Castaing.
Two MSC ships chartered for the Mondial
The delivery of the MSC World Europe consisted of a blessing according to the Catholic tradition and a bottle was broken in the hull of the luxury ship, which will leave Saint-Nazaire on Wednesday morning for Qatar, where it will be inaugurated on November 13.
The FIFA World Cup organizers “were considering building hotels, but obviously it’s only for a season, so they looked for cruise ships to replace hotels, because we can offer many rooms, and that’s how the conversation started,” the MSC executive said. Cruise ships. President Pierfrancesco Vago told AFP.
“We charter two boats in Qatar and Fifa,” said Patrick Pourbaix. “The first two weeks, for the qualifiers, the ships are full, so much so that we have launched a third, smaller ship, which will complete the offer.”
Source: BFM TV
