By
Laura Hyde |
MSC Cruises expects emissions from its fleet of ships to drop by 15 per cent with the 2026 fleetwide introduction of a new itinerary planning optimisation tool called OptiCruise.
OptiCruise has been developed with OPTIMeasy, a research company affiliated to the University of Genoa, as part of the European Union’s funded Project CHEK, which was established to investigate and trial several low-carbon shipping opportunities. The technology was tested onboard MSC Bellissima over a 12-month period as the ship sailed between 17 ports in the Mediterranean.
The tool uses a new mathematical model to comprehensively examine various factors that influence the planning of each MSC Cruises’ itinerary to achieve the optimum level of efficiency for sailing, while also maintaining or enhancing guest satisfaction. These factors include sequencing of the port calls, departure and arrival times at ports, the ship’s speed, the appeal and attractiveness of destinations for a holidaymaker, shore excursions, and operational costs such as fuel, port charges and food provisions.
As cruise ship itinerary planning typically takes place two years prior to sailing, the benefits of OptiCruise’s technology will be seen in 2026, when the MSC Cruises fleet will total 24 cruise ships.
“We have identified and developed this new technology to optimise the decision-making process of itinerary planning with the aim to further reduce emissions across our fleet from 2026,” said Michele Francioni, chief energy transition officer at MSC Cruises. “The OPTIMeasy team calculates that the average fuel savings made and emissions reduced by using OptiCruise are in the range of 10-15 per cent, which is a significant step forward in our ambition to achieve our net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 for our marine operations.”