Cruise Shipping
Green Cruising On Deck
AIDA Cruises
I
f there was one sector that was an early adopter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, it was passenger shipping. Currently there are up to 18 cruise ships on the orderbook slated to operate on LNG power. Leading the “green cruising charge” is AIDA Cruises, one of ten brands under the Carnival Corporation & plc umbrella, which will take delivery of the AIDAnova, the world’s first LNG powered cruise ship later this year. The ship will be powered by four dual-fueled engines from Caterpillar. AIDAnova is being built by Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Meyer Werft’s group of shipyards, which include Meyer Turku and Neptun Werft, are at the head of the pack when it comes to building LNG-powered cruise ships. A total of 13 LNG cruise ships are currently confirmed and on order with the group—with eight of those ships falling
under Carnival Corporation brands: two for AIDA Cruises, two for Costa Cruises, two for P&O Cruises UK and two for Carnival Cruise Line. On its end, AIDA Cruises has dabbled with LNG in the past. In 2016 the company signed an agreement with Shell NA LNG, LLC (Shell) to supply its AIDAprima cruise ship with LNG. The LNG fuel was used to power the ship while it was docked—leading to a major reduction in emissions. The success of the pilot project gained AIDA Cruises’ confidence and ensured Shell’s position as the LNG marine fuel provider for AIDA ships. Furthermore, the partnership with Shell proved to be so valuable, it was extended to reach other brands within the Carnival Corporation lineup. Late last year, Carnival Cruise Line signed an agreement with Shell to be the LNG fuel power provider for the two new
LNG-powered cruise ships it will launch in 2020 and 2022. The 180,000- ton ships, which will be the largest ships in Carnival Cruise Line’s fleet upon delivery, will be the first fully LNG-powered cruise ships to operate in North America. And just as we were going to press, Carnival Corporation announced that it had signed a contract for a second next-generation cruise ship for its P&O Cruises UK brand with Meyer Werft. Like its sister ship due in 2020, the ship will be powered by LNG and will be the largest cruise ship built for the British market. The 180,000 grt ship will accommodate 5,200 guests and be delivered in 2022. Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., too, have LNG-powered cruise ships on order at Meyer Werft. Last summer, Disney announced it would nearly double the size of its fleet adding three new ships to its lineup. February 2018 // Marine Log 29