MSC Cruises Eco Ships

MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida, currently under construction in St Nazaire are to be fitted with the most modern equipment to conserve energy and safeguard the environment. Both weighing 133,500 tonnes, they are the largest ships ever to be commissioned by a European ship owner.

Further to having been awarded Comfort Class certificates (reflecting passengers’ comfort and environmental protection), both ships are also fitted with cutting-edge environmentally friendly technology:

AWT-Advanced Water Treatment: the system treats black and grey water against stringent guidelines. The water can be used for many purposes including cleaning the decks – thereby avoiding the harmful water being pumped into the sea and limiting the overall use of fresh water. The black and grey water is treated over a two day period in storage tanks, the size of which means that the ship can cruise for longer distances, without having to stop off at a port.

Energy saving: in all passengers cabins there is a system to conserve energy and reduce fuel consumption: lights switch off when the cabin is not in use, resulting in an energy saving of 30%. In addition, an advanced Energy Saving system will also be installed in the public lounges with a reduction of up to 25% electricity consumption.

Cabin Monitoring System: this climate control system, installed for the first time on a cruise ship of this size, reduces energy consumption. As a result of this technology, passengers can digitally alter the temperature in their cabins. This technology enables passengers to connect to the Energy Saving system, which adjusts the temperature when the balcony doors are opened or closed. The airconditioning will automatically switch to stand-by, altering the temperature depending on whether or not the windows or doors are open.

Intersleek® 900 – MSC Fantasia and MCS Splendida, as for MSC Poesia, will have their hull painted with the new revolutionary paint ‘foul release’ with fluor-polymers, a non toxic substance which helps reduce CO² emissions through the reduction of fuel.

MSC Cruises has received many awards and certificates for its commitment to safeguarding the environment from the BUREAU VERITAS. These include:

- CLEAN-SEA2 and CLEAN-AIR, which recognises companies that control the funnel emissions of their ships and those that treat these emissions in order to achieve as close to zero impact as possible.

- ISO 14001, a voluntary international standard which applies to any public or private organisation, which specifies the requirements for an environmentally friendly system. Before arriving at a system that will comply with ISO 14001 standards, companies have to analyse the environment in relation to the framework that the company operates in.

- ISO 22000, an international standard which measures quality in Food Safety procedures. The ISO 22000 certificate requires the company to use methods to monitor daily the entire process of the food chain and eliminate any eventual risks.

- OHSAS 18001 was awarded to both offices and ships. OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) is an international standard that safeguards the health and safety of all the crew.

RINA has awarded to the Company the ISO 9001:2000 certificate, which represents a global recognition of quality management in all various sectors of a company.

GREEN PLANET AWARD - launched in 2000 for hotels with eco-friendly facilities, this award has become widely recognised by the industry and subsequently has also been extended to cruise ships.

CIAL AWARD “COMUNI RICICLONI 2008” – awarded by CIAL (National consortium for the recovery and recycling of aluminum packaging) for an aluminium recycling project started in 2007 on board our fleet.

VENICE BLUE FLAG - MSC Cruises was the first company to adhere to the agreement, which governs the ships transiting the canal of Venice using diesel oil and reducing their sulphur emissions.

MSC Crociere currently has a fleet of nine ships: MSC Poesia third flagship of the Musica” class, MSC Orchestra, MSC Musica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Opera, MSC Armonia, MSC Lirica, MSC Melody, MSC Rhapsody, cruising in the Mediterranean all year round, Northern Europe, Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, South America, Indian Ocean and South Africa. In the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009, MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida will be respectively launched. These will be the largest ships ever built by a European ship owner. Then in the fall of 2009, MSC Magnifica, the fourth ship in the “Musica class”, will enter service. By end of 2009, MSC Cruises will have the most modern fleet in the world with a total of 12 vessels.

Official Press Release MSC Cruises dated 31st July 2008.