1 3 Explora Journeys’ vessels will offer a luxury experience for guests and incorporate green technologies The ship will also help MSC Group’s cruise division to fulfil its pledge to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “Protecting our oceans is vital for our business and future generations, so it’s paramount for MSC Group to ensure that all of our operations are environmentally sustainable,” says Vago. “We’re educating our guests and key stakeholders so they understand how serious the challenges are, and how quickly we must solve them. I regularly engage with shipyards, technology suppliers, fuel providers and others to bring the conversation to the political arena and drive the development of the fuels and technologies we need to make zero-emission cruising a reality.” Between now and 2025, MSC Group’s cruise division will focus on implementing fossil-based fuels like LNG coupled with shore power, fuel cells and other technologies, before trying to transition to biobased and synthetic fuels between 2025-2035. From 2035 onwards, it will aim to develop zeroemission fuels and new power systems. “With our 2050 net zero pledge, we defined what we want to achieve and we’re now intensively working on how we are going to reach that goal,” says Vago. “We have a clear strategy and timeline for making progress, but each phase will bring unique technical and infrastructure challenges. We’ll need to solve these in collaboration with authorities, technology providers, infrastructure companies and other key stakeholders.” MSC Cruises is already making good progress, having installed dual-fuel engines, shore power capabilities, systems for advanced wastewater treatment, heat recovery, energy efficiency, exhaust gas cleaning, and much more. At the end of 2019, the brand recorded a 28 per cent decrease in carbon intensity compared to its 2008 baseline and remains on track to meet, or likely exceed, its 40 per cent target by 2030. The six ships in MSC Group’s new luxury cruise brand Explora Journeys have also been designed with the environment in mind. For instance, Explora III and IV will be powered by LNG, and Explora V and VI will feature a new generation of LNG engines with an industry-first system for containing liquid hydrogen so they can use the low-carbon fuel. Hydrogen fuel will power a six-megawatt fuel cell to produce emission-free power for hotel operations while vessels are in port. “Explora Journeys is using today’s latest technologies to build ships for tomorrow so they can be adapted to alternative energy solutions when they become available,” says Vago. Such investments demonstrate that the cruise industry, which represents roughly two per cent of the wider global shipping sector, is leading the way when it comes to researching, developing and implementing new solutions to reduce carbon emissions, claims Vago. “We’re continually pushing boundaries and showing the world how we can achieve sustainable shipping in a practical way, and that makes me very proud.” Despite the great strides the industry is making, however, Vago is campaigning for both industry regulators and governments to provide better support for the sector. “Everybody is working hard to decarbonise, but we don’t have an industry-wide strategy so there’s a risk everyone will go off in their own direction and that could be problematic,” he says. “We need governments to bring all the cruise operators, fuel providers, KEYNOTE “ The maritime industry’s transition to zero-emission operations is the biggest challenge we’ll ever face”
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