According to a report by the newswire dpa that was picked up by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, an increasing number of cruise ships have decided to switch their propellant from liquefied natural gas (LNG) to diesel fuel because of the high pricing of LNG. As a result of the disruption in gas trading between Europe and Russia, the German operator Aida Cruises stated that several of its ships have been running on marine gasoil, which is a type of diesel, for a number of weeks now. This is due to the fact that the price of LNG has increased significantly as a result of the disruption.
It was announced that the Italian cruise line operator Costa Cruises had stopped using LNG on two of its ships. According to the business, “the ongoing energy crisis is causing widespread problems in access to and overall supply of liquefied natural gas,” and they added that the ships will now now burn marine gasoil in addition to liquefied natural gas. We are going to restart our LNG activities as soon as the energy market returns to its previous state of stability. Earlier in the day, the Norwegian operator Fjord Line made the announcement that it would convert its two LNG ships into vessels that can run on either diesel or natural gas.
When it was commissioned in 2018, Aida Cruises claimed that its “Aidanova” was the first cruise ship in the world that could be powered completely with LNG. Not only do LNG engines have lower local emissions in comparison to diesel or gasoil engines, but they are also considered a technology that can act as a bridge towards climate-neutral cruising. This is due to the fact that the engines can also run on emissions-free gases in the future. Diesel and gasoil engines are the two most common types of internal combustion engines currently in use.
In preparation for its next year as the country that will hold the presidency of the EU Council in 2020, Germany has begun work on a program to improve the environmental sustainability of the European maritime industry. It has also adopted legislation that is targeted at improving the climate impact of large vessels, such as making the use of land power necessary in its ports. This is one example of how the country is working to improve its climate impact. Ship engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions, which is the largest in the country, has expressed the desire for environmentally friendly propulsion systems to account for the bulk of the company’s revenue by the year 2030.