MSC Cruises and ARTA recently announced that they will partner for the development of LNG bunkering system for the cruise line’s World-class LNG-powered cruise ships. The companies aim at setting a new standard in LNG bunkering for cruise ships that meets the unique future requirements of the industry.
After nearly one year of research and analysis, MSC Cruises and ARTA have partnered up to develop a tailor-made LNG bunkering system that takes full account of the cruise industry’s specific needs. The joint program was unveiled on January 30.
The company will invest€9 billion for the construction of eleven new next-generation cruise ships in the next ten years., The investment plan includes four LNG-powered cruise ships (the World Class). This follows a letter of intent signed between MSC Cruises and the STX France shipyard in June 2016 for the construction of up to four LNG-powered cruise ships that will be more than 200 000 GRT. The first two cruise ships will be delivered in 2022 and 2024.
Yves Bui, MSC Cruises’ LNG project director, said:
‘With up to four LNG-powered cruise ships scheduled to join our fleet, we are highly committed to developing the best possible technologies and systems to support the introduction of LNG to cruising.’
“In ARTA, we have found a partner that matches our focus on innovation and the best maritime technology at sea and that understands our industry’s specific needs. The result is a system that features a newly developed coupling and decoupling mechanism as well as a double-walled hose that will allow us to conduct bunkering operations without disrupting the activities taking place on board the ship.”
Andreas von Keitz, ARTA’s md, added:
‘Thanks to our partnership with MSC Cruises we have been able to fully understand cruise ship bunkering needs and have put over 40 years of our bunkering engineering experience to good use. The result is a technologically advanced solution that will help ensure that the double wall principle is maintained across the entire LNG bunkering supply chain.’
