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MSC World Europa to feature solid oxide fuel cell demonstrator

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 24 May 2022 24 May 2022

MSC World Europa that is nearing completion at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France is set to become the greenest and most efficient vessel in MSC Cruises’ fleet when it is delivered in October 2022.

“MSC Cruises has today released information about the ship’s environmental credentials, including solid oxide fuel cells, a selective catalytic reduction system and enhanced shore-to-ship power capability. She will also be the largest LNG powered cruise ship in the world when she launches later this year,” the Geneva based company said in a statement.

MSC World Europa will be the world’s first contemporary cruise vessel to feature brand new solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) developed by MSC Cruises, Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Bloom Energy.

The 205,000 gross ton ship that is first in a series of four, will include a 150 kilowatt SOFC demonstrator that will generate auxiliary power to deliver efficiency gains and significant CO2 emissions reductions compared to traditional internal combustion engines. It will be a testbed to accelerate the development of fuel cell technology for contemporary cruise ships and offers a potential to enable hybrid propulsion solutions in the future.

Compared to standard marine fuels, LNG nearly eliminates air pollutant emissions, including sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and fine particles, and achieves a CO2 reduction of up to 25%. LNG will also enable the development of low-carbon fuels and solutions such as green hydrogen, bio-LNG, and fuel cells. Traditional marine fuels cannot support these upcoming solutions.

MSC World Europa features a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that reduces NOx emissions by 90% when LNG is not available, and the ship must run on marine gas oil. As LNG fuel achieves a similar reduction, MSC World Europa will always meet International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) Tier III NOx emissions standards. On top of this, shore-to-ship power connectivity allows MSC World Europa to minimise engine use at ports where the required infrastructure is available.

As with all new MSC Cruises’ ships, MSC World Europa also features the latest wastewater treatment technology, in compliance with the IMO’s MEPC 227(64) Resolution, fully aligned with the world’s most stringent regulatory requirements – the so-called ‘Baltic Standard’. The ship includes an advanced ballast water treatment system that prevents the introduction of invasive species in the marine environment through ballast water discharges, in compliance with IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention, MSC Cruises said.

Soaring cost of food hits cruise industry too

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 24 May 2022 24 May 2022

Rapidly increasing cost of food is impacting the cruise industry as well, figures released by the three largest listed companies in the business show.

In the 12 months to 30 November 2019 that was the end of its final financial year before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Carnival group carried 12.87 million passengers and paid $1.08 billion for food. This makes $84 per passenger. However, in the first quarter of its present financial year, the company carried 1.01 million passengers, but its food bill amounted to $136 million that was equal to $136 per passengers.

Royal Caribbean Group carried 6.55 million passengers in 2019 and its food bill came to a total of $584 million that year, which was equal to $89 per passenger. This increased to $136 per passenger in the first quarter of 2022, when the company carried 734,000 passengers and paid $100 million for food.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) showed an even steeper increase. In 2019, the group’s ships carried 2.69 million passengers and it paid $223 million for food, equal to $83 per passenger. In the first quarter of the year, the per passenger figure had increased to $204 as NCLH carried a total of 191,000 passengers and paid $39 million for food

NCLH may unveil newbuilding order soon - report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 20 May 2022 20 May 2022

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) may unveil orders for newbuildings in the near future, Travel weekly reports in the UK.

NCLH President and CEO Frank Del Rio stated new vessels would soon be announced. “I’ve got to start thinking about 2028 and 2029, which seems like a millennium from now but it’s around the corner,” he was quoted as saying.

“If you think from the moment you start thinking about a new vessel or new concept you probably have four to five years, so it’s 2022 plus five years is 2027,” the report said.

There have been reports in the shipping media about a pending multi billion dollar order that NCLH would be close to placing with Fincantieri in Italy, which is building Prima class ships for the group's Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) contemporary market unit.

However, del Rio did not comment on this nor elaborate on what kinds of ships and with what shipyard NCLH was thinking of ordering.

Carnival plc closes near 52 week low below £10 on market rout

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 20 May 2022 20 May 2022

Shares in Carnival plc, the UK domiciled holding company in the Carnival Corporation & plc group, fell nearly 3% in London to close near their 52 week low on general market turmoil and news of a new $1.0 billion debt issue.

The shares dropped 2.96% to 976p on Friday - shares on the London market are traded in pence rather than pounds - only a fraction above their 965p low of the past 52 weeks.

Leading stock indices closed higher in London on Friday, but the market has faced high volatility on concerns over inflation and the prospect of a recession.

Carnival Corporation, the US listed and Panama domiciled holding company in the Carnival group, said yesterday it has issues $1.0 billion worth of new debt at an interest rate of 10.50%, which would mature in 2030 and which would be used to refinance existing borrowing.

Some market commentators noted that the new debt issue shows that the cruise industry has not left challenging times behind its back yet.

On the other hand, another market commentator noted that people are spending their money rather on experiences, such as travel, rather than at shops after two years of Covid-19 restrictions.

Senior executives of the three largest listed cruise shipping companies - Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH - have all said in their latest conference calls that the booking environment is encouraging.

Rising fares, problems with flights fuel demand for cruises from UK ports - report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 20 May 2022 20 May 2022

Reports of long delays at airports and cancelled flights in Europe together with rising prices of airline tickets have stoked a boom for cruises that depart from ports in the UK, Travel Weekly reports on its website.

Phil Evans, owner of Cruise Nation, said about 50% of all current bookings were for ex-UK sailings. “We’re seeing huge demand for ex-UK cruises,” he said, adding that booking volumes for Med fly-cruises were “not where they need to be,” he was quoted as saying.

Amanda Matthews, Managing Director of Designer Travel, said: “We’re booming in cruise. Last week, cruise sales were 13% of our business, normally they would be 4%,” according to the same source.