Shipping companies, shipyards and suppliers of the cruise industry have often set standards in sustainable maritime solutions in the past. Seatrade Europe, biennial meeting place of the cruise and river cruise industries, provides a unique trade platform for the latest developments and innovations.

"The cruise industry is aware of its need for action in respect of sustainability and is at an experimental stage," said Helge Grammerstorf, Managing Director of the Hamburg-based SeaConsult. "There are a lot of interesting and promising concepts to reduce the environmental impact of cruise ships."

Environmental protection will be a hot topic during the first day of Seatrade Europe 2011 in the “European Rules” conference session, supported by Global Maritime Environmental Congress (GMEC), where discussion will centre on new regulations, technology and operational procedures.

During the show, industry suppliers will also present their latest products for the reduction of energy and water consumption. Oldenburg-based Deerberg-Systems, world leader for maritime waste management solutions, will demonstrate its innovative technology, as will Hobart, market leader for commercial flushing systems. Convotherm Elektrogeräte will present ecological solutions for its state of-the-art combi steamers, while Ecolab Deutschland will focus on efficient cleaning and sanitising technology.

Alongside its extensive environmental protection efforts Hamburg-based cruise line, Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten, has launched a program in co-operation with climate organization Atmosfair, developers of the first cruise climate calculator, to compensate carbon dioxide output. “Co-operation with Atmosfair gives us and our passengers the opportunity to make a contribution to climate protection and to encourage ecologically-friendly and sustainable cruising”, said Sebastian Ahrens of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten. Ports are also actively exploring the possibilities of shore power or LNG supply, so that cruise ships can cut auxiliary engines in port. The new cruise terminal in Hamburg-Altona includes tracks for power and LNG supply, so that both solutions could be implemented in the future.

The Port of Lübeck already supplies ferries with shore power, but there are no concrete plans to supply cruise ships as yet. At the Baltic Sea port of Kiel port authorities are also considering shore power or LNG supply, and eagerly wait to see the results of pilot projects in other ports.

Classification society Germanischer Lloyd is actively engaged with shipyards Meyer Werft, Flensburger Schiffbaugesellschaft, Fr. Lürssen Werft and Tractebel Gas Engineering on developing an LNG engine concept. Meyer Werft, an exhibitor and Supplier Workshop host at Seatrade Europe, continues to work on a viable solution for gas-powered cruise ships. STX France, also jointly hosting the Supplier Workshop, has announced its intention to develop a hybrid solution with LNG and electrical drive. These technologies could see energy consumption and carbon dioxide output reduced by 15-20%.

Many companies are working on solutions for practicable fuel cell systems as an efficient replacement for diesel generators. Germanischer Lloyd envisages fuel cell solutions could be available in 2020 at the earliest.

The Seatrade Europe Cruise & River Cruise Convention takes place at Hamburg Messe from 27-29 September 2011. For more information please visit www.seatrade-europe.com.