Maltese PM visits the MSC World Europa
Malta's PM Robert Abela visited the ship MSC World Europa. This was on the occasion of the official launch of an offshore electrical substation in the port of the capital Valletta, the first facility of its kind in the Mediterranean.
Since 11 July, the municipal electricity grid in Valletta has been powering all operations on the ship while it is docked in port. This allows MSC World Europa to shut down its engines and eliminate direct emissions that would otherwise pollute the city's air.
Francioni: coastal power is an important element of MSC's decarbonisation efforts
Stefano Battinelli, captain of the MSC World Europa, gave the Prime Minister and other Maltese officials a tour of the 22-storey ship powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas), the most environmentally friendly marine fuel today. Abela was also briefed on a presentation by Michele Francioni, Director of Energy Transformation at MSC Cruises, on the shipping company's decarbonisation strategy, which aims to achieve zero net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its maritime operations by 2050.
Commenting on the presentation, Francioni said, "Offshore power is one of the very important elements of our ongoing commitment to decarbonisation, with the majority of our fleet equipped to eliminate local emissions and improve local air quality when ships are docked in port and we can turn off their engines as their operations are powered by local offshore electricity.
It was a great honour to show the Maltese Prime Minister that his country is a leader in offshore electricity in the Mediterranean, our main market for offshore holidays. We look forward to many more ports in the region and around the world being equipped with this technology in the future, so that cruise lines and the wider maritime sector can further reduce local port emissions."
New details of MSC Cruises' decarbonisation strategy
MSC Cruises' goal this year is to have 220 shore power connections made in destinations in China, Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom and Malta by the time 16 of the company's 22 ships are equipped with port power connections. As more ports make shore power available, MSC Cruises' ships will use additional local power grids.
According to a press release, MSC Cruises plans to add at least 15 new ports using shore power between 2024 and 2026. These include Barcelona, Hamburg, Valencia, Marseille, Copenhagen; five ports in Italy at Genoa, La Spezia, Civitavecchii, Neapoli and Tersto, plus at the company's new cruise terminal in Miami, which will be fully in service next year as part of the launch of MSC World America's next eco-ship.
MSC Cruises has also announced that it has divided its strategy to achieve zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 into three main pillars: ship and engine technologies (which include shore power), operational efficiency and renewable fuels.
MSC World Europa will sail between Malta, Spain, France and Italy in 2024 and 2025 - you can choose from both cruises with transport and delegate as well as from individual cruises with private transport.
