By
Rebecca Gibson |
Norwegian Cruise Line has completed a two-year project to retrofit Norwegian Jewel with a hybrid exhaust gas cleaning system (scrubber) as part of its new Eco-Smart Cruising programme.
Developed by Yara Marine Technologies, Norwegian Jewel was equipped with five lightweight, in-line scrubbers – one per engine – while she remained in service over the past two years. The project started in spring 2014 and was completed in more than 100,000 man hours by arious partner organisations.
Norwegian is the first cruise line to install scrubbers with a water membrane filtration unit, which uses ultrafiltration technology to clean recirculated water during the closed-loop operation. The scrubbers can operate in dry-, open- and closed-loop modes and collectively, they are capable of reducing sulphur emissions by up to 99% and particulate emissions by 85%.
“Norwegian is firmly dedicated to upholding the highest standards of excellence in environmental protection practices, as well as leading the industry in seeking out technology that makes our ships not only an enjoyable vacation experience, but also ensures that we continuously protect the environment that our guests love to explore,” said Robin Lindsay, executive vice president of vessel operations for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
Two other Norwegian ships – Norwegian Escape and Pride of America – currently use scrubbers. Norwegian Jewel’s sister ships, Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem, will complete their scrubber commissioning within the coming weeks, while Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Sun are scheduled for retrofitting in the first and second quarter of 2017, respectively.
Norwegian is on track to meet its MARPOL Annex VI compliance goal of reducing its global sulphur cap from 3.5% to 0.5% by 2020.