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Mon 22 Jul 2013, 13:22 GMT

First newbuild cruise ships to install 'world's smallest scrubber'


Cruise line says its newbuilds will be the first to feature scrubber technology developed by Green Tech Marine.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has announced that its two new Breakaway Plus class ships will be the first newbuilds in the cruise industry to feature scrubber technology developed by Green Tech Marine (GTM), a leading marine scrubber supplier, which claims that its GTM scrubber is the world's smallest.

The two new vessels will be built by Meyer Werft GmbH in Germany and delivered to the fleet in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Green Tech Marine is contracted to provide five scrubbers per ship for the engines, which range from 14.4 to 16.8 megawatts. According to NCL, the installation will be the largest scrubber plant in the world with a total engine power of 76.8 megawatts.

"Norwegian Cruise Line has a history of innovation along with a commitment to utilizing green technology whenever possible," said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's chief executive officer. "Installing scrubbers from Green Tech Marine on our new Breakaway Plus vessels is a smart decision and one that will ensure these ships are as eco-friendly as possible."

The GTM-R scrubbers are compact, making it possible for the builds to avoid the loss of cabin space or other service areas. GTM uses one smaller scrubber for each engine instead of a large multi inlet scrubber serving several engines, and the scrubber also replaces the silencer, which NCL says is very suitable for cruise ships.

The GTM-R scrubbers are said to hold all the necessary certificates to ensure the vessels are compliant with the 0.1% sulphur limit in Emission Control Areas (ECA), beginning in 2015.

GTM has previously delivered scrubbers to NCL's Pride of America, which sails all year round in Hawaii. The scrubbers were installed during the ship's dry dock refurbishment in March and are scheduled to be fully operational later this year.

"We are thrilled to see a large ship owner such as Norwegian Cruise Line and a respected ship builder like Meyer Werft being early adapters of green technology," said President and CEO of GTM, Peter Strandberg.

Image: NCL's Norwegian Breakaway.

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