The Cruise division of MSC Group have reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to sustainability by pledging to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its cruise marine operation by 2050. The current ambition held by the International Maritime Organisation is to reduce emissions from shipping by 50% by 2050 which, if achieved, MSC Group will go beyond and will therefore help accelerate the necessary technological and fuel developments required.
The pledge was completed as MSC signed Getting to Zero Coalition’s Call to Action to accelerate the decarbonisation of the overall shipping sector, including cruising. The Call to Action includes three demands to enable this: setting a target for zero emission shipping by 2050; deploying commercially viable zero emission vessels by 2030; and joint action by the private and public sectors. The Call to Action will be delivered to world governments in November 2021, in advance of COP26.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of the Cruise Division of MSC Group, said: “As a family business with over three hundred years of maritime heritage, we have always felt a deep responsibility towards our marine environment and our planet. Today we are taking our commitment one step further by embracing a net zero emissions future within the next three decades. We will achieve this by investing in and otherwise supporting the accelerated development and implementation of innovative, cutting-edge technologies to be deployed across our fleet, continuously raising the bar of environmental performance and leading our industry forward.
“Collaboration between operators, shipyards, technology manufacturers, academic institutions, public authorities and governments will be essential. There are already encouraging signs of such partnerships enabling progress, but more can and must be done. I call on all parties to work relentlessly towards this end and bring about the next great energy transition in our industry.”
In recent years, the company have looked towards reducing Greenhouse gas emissions intensity through introducing energy efficiency and is one of the main reasons the MSC Cruise Division is helping to speed up the significant technological evolution that is required.
To further this, the company is undertaking several industry research projects which include, the development of hydrogen powered vessels , fuel cells on LNG powered vessels, retrofitting fuel cell technology and low carbon technologies and ship design.
With this and future projects expected, the MSC Cruise Division is continuing the work towards a net zero emissions future for itself and the entire cruise industry,
