This Will Be The Future

A greener planet is what we all want and although the cruising world has had some negative comments regarding the effects on the environment it actually only makes up less then 1% of the world’s commercial vessels.  However, the cruising powers to be have certainly listened and now with all the new ships I think in the very near future you will see some fantastic technological developments.

Firstly forgive me as I am not very technical, but I will try to explain what has caught my attention recently.

Hurtigruten has to be my first port of call (forgive the pun!).  In the new ships the Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen these will be the first expeditions ships to sail with full hybrid capabilities, which reduces emissions up to 20%.  They will also operate any excursions by hybrid catamaran’s which can operate on electric power for 10 hours at a cruising speed of 10 knots.

Ponant’s new icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot, which is currently being built, will be the world’s first cruise ship built to PC2-class as an icebreaker and the first expedition cruise ship to use dual-fuel liquefied natural gas.

SeaDream Innovation will be equipped with a large battery pack of approx 4 MWh which enables silent emissions free sailing for up to 3 hours.

The new Virgin ship, the Scarlet Lady are banning any “unnecessary single-use plastics, and thoughtfully sourcing food and retail merchandise” or look at the P&O Iona – “She will be the first cruise ship built for the British market to be powered by liquefied natural gas which is intended to make her more environmentally friendly than traditional diesel-powered ships”

It is not just the new ship’s though.  There is plenty of investment going on to “retrofitting” these older ships. One of the refits they are concentrating on is the installation of “scrubber” or exhaust gas cleaning which does help to minimize emissions.

There are plenty of words here which in all honesty goes over my head a bit but the main point the cruise lines are getting across here is they are listening, some more then others I guess. It is that age old story isn’t it where money is always in the equation, which is a shame but that is life whether we like it or not.

So, in 20 years time where will the cruising world be? Will every new ship have all of the above and I guess more? Will there be any “old” ships around? Time will tell, but they need to get a move on before this beautiful planet of ours is spoilt.

Till next time x