As part of the international trade conference 'Making LNG Happen: Combining Forces for Sustainable Shipping', representatives from the fields of business, politics and science visited the cruise ship
AIDAprima in Rotterdam on Thursday 26th January.
On board the first cruise ship in the world that uses a dual-fuel engine to produce its energy from low-emission liquefied gas (LNG) while docked at port, leading LNG experts from Germany, Norway and the Netherlands discussed the practical experiences of AIDA Cruises with the use of LNG.
Since last year's test run for the LNG supply of AIDAprima in Hamburg on 7th May 2016, the cruise ship is being provided with LNG while docked at all ports on its route:
Hamburg,
Rotterdam,
Le Havre,
Southampton and
Zeebrugge.
With AIDA vessels spending about 40 percent of their operating time in a port, the use of LNG while berthed means a reduction in emissions: sulphur oxides and soot particles can be prevented completely; nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by up to 80 percent and carbon dioxide emissions are lowered by 20 percent, according to AIDA Cruises.
"We believe in LNG as the fuel with the lowest emissions that is currently available and have been performing pioneering work in this area for many years. In the summer of 2015 we announced that we will be the first cruise company worldwide to operate the ships of the next AIDA generation - which are being built at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg and commissioned as of 2019 - 100 percent with LNG. We are pleased that other cruise lines are now also following our example and have ordered new constructions with LNG fuel as well," said Dr.
Monika Griefahn, Chief Sustainable Officer AIDA Cruises at the trade conference in Rotterdam. "However, we also need the support of the ports and LNG producers to invest in the necessary infrastructure," Dr. Griefahn added.
AIDA Cruises invested in the research and testing of applications to use LNG in cruise ships early on. The company collaborated on the
LNG Hybrid Barge together with
Becker Marine Systems in 2013 to develop and launch an innovative and flexible solution for providing environmentally friendly energy to the ships using liquefied gas while they are moored in the Hamburg harbor. Since 30th May 2015, the
AIDAsol has been supplied with low-emission power from LNG at the Hafencity Cruise Terminal; in 2016 alone this included 16 arrivals.
AIDA Cruises has also documented its commitment to the environment and society in its sustainability report 'AIDA Cares' since 2007. In this report it also lists all of the relevant environmental key figures.
In addition to reducing emissions, increased efficiency is a significant factor in eco-friendly ship operation. The ships in the AIDA fleet are said to use 3 litres of fuel on average per person on board for a 100-kilometre trip. This was confirmed by experts at DNV GL in an independent study in 2012.
Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art, energy-efficient environmental technologies and the economical handling of resources, AIDA reports that additional progress was made in 2016 - with nine percent less energy being used per person on board than in 2012 and the emission of carbon dioxide dropping by 7.7 percent.
