LNG-powered MSC Euribia completes deep-water trials, prepares for inaugural season

MSC Cruises’ liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ship MSC Euribia has completed deep-water intensive systems tests during a four-day trial in the Atlantic Ocean, and will next receive her finishing touches at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France, before being officially delivered to MSC Cruises on 31 May 2023.

According to MSC Cruises, MSC Euribia will be the 22 ship to join its fleet and it will be able to accommodate up to 6,327 passengers.

The ship will be officially named on 8 June in Copenhagen, Denmark, before sailing a maiden inaugural season in Northern Europe from her homeport in Kiel, Germany.

MSC Cruises said the vessel will feature innovative and advanced marine technology, as well as LNG fuel to minimise its environmental footprint, adding it will also strike a new silhouette with a customised fresco painted on her exterior that celebrates MSC Cruises’ commitment to protect and preserve the marine environment.

The ship will also feature shore power plug-in connectivity to reduce carbon emissions in port, the most advanced wastewater treatment systems designed in line with the United Nations’ shipping body the International Maritime Organisation, comprehensive waste recycling, underwater radiated noise management system to help limit disturbance to marine life, and a comprehensive range of onboard energy efficient equipment to optimise engine use and hotel energy needs to further reduce emissions, MSC Cruises further informed.

German graphic artist Alex Flämig, the vessel’s hull artwork designer, commented: “To witness my design finally come to life across MSC Euribia’s hull is an incredibly proud moment and even more so, to soon have my artwork sailing the world’s oceans. I hope it can serve not only as a testament to MSC Cruises’ commitment to protecting the important marine ecosystem but also as an inspiration for those working on finding innovative solutions to safeguard the future of the ocean.”

To remind, for delivery between 2022 and 2025, MSC Cruises ordered three LNG-powered vessels, including MSC Euribia. The first vessel MSC World Europa was christened in 2022, and the construction of the third ship is to start in 2023.