- Low-pollutant marine gas oil to be used on all expedition ships from July 2020
- New expedition cruise catalogues for the 2020 – 2021 season now available
- Smoke-free ship from October 2020
Together with the introduction of new expedition cruise catalogues for the 2020-2021 season, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has also announced that low-pollutant marine gas oil (MGO) will be used exclusively on all routes sailed by its expedition ships in the fleet – the HANSEATIC nature, the HANSEATIC inspiration and the BREMEN from July 2020. Joining the fleet in 2021, the HANSEATIC spirit will also use this fuel.
“With our many years of experience in expedition cruising, we have always set the standard for this segment – with our ships, our routes and our mission to deliver quality and service. Acting responsibly towards nature and the environment is always, therefore, a top priority for us. The decision to change fuels gradually and use marine gas oil all-year round on all expedition fleet routes in future is, for us, a step in the right direction towards achieving this important objective,” says Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
The use of low-sulphur fuels in the Antarctic has been mandatory for several years and already Hapag-Lloyd Cruises uses marine gas oil voluntarily in other sensitive regions, such as the Arctic or Kamchatka. This low-pollutant fuel has a sulphur content of just 0.1 per cent. In addition, the new expedition ships are not only equipped with an SCR catalytic converter that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by almost 95 per cent but they are also fitted out to use cold ironing.
The routes will be planned and carried out with an average speed that is environmentally-friendly, cutting fuel consumption by around one third. The Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ fleet is also equipped with seawater desalination technology to produce clean water, as well as with biological sewage treatment plants. The bow thrusters and stabilisers run on environmentally-friendly bio-petroleum.
“The sensitive cruising areas that make up our expedition itineraries should be particularly protected. There are strict regulations in place for these regions that we adhere to, of course. We also set ourselves strict regulations to abide by when our ships cruise through the more remote regions,” adds Karl J. Pojer.