MSC Cruises: building next-generation cruise ships

The shipping conglomerate plans to build these ships in the next five years for 30-year operations. Fuel flexibility will be vital, says MSC Cruises senior vice president for cost optimisation and process improvements Michele Francioni.

The challenge is uncertainty about the availability of these fuels, he said during a video interview at Riviera Maritime Media’s Maritime Hybrid, Electric & Hydrogen Fuel Cells Conference 2023 in Bergen, Norway.

MSC has opted for dual-fuel LNG engines for its next set of newbuildings to reduce emissions during cruise routes and in ports. LNG is the only available fuel at scale and can be replaced with bioLNG in the future, said Mr Francioni.

MSC completed the first zero-emissions cruise with one of its ships operating on bioLNG in northern Europe in 2023.

It has also been testing a solid-oxide fuel cell on one of its ships for a year, which Mr Francioni hopes can be be scaled up for future projects.

MSC plans to install larger systems on its new ships during the next newbuilding campaign. New Explorer cruise ships will have LNG dual-fuel propulsion and 6-MW fuel cells to cover the hotel load, said Mr Francioni.