AIDA Cruises takes delivery of world’s first LNG fueled cruise ship

Felix Eichhorn (President AIDA Cruises), Boris Becker (AIDA Captain), Michael Thamm (CEO Costa Crociere), Tim Meyer (Managing Director Meyer Werft) und Bernard Meyer (Managing Director Meyer Werft)

DECEMBER 13, 2018 — Marking yet another milestone in the uptake of liquefied natural gas as a marine fuel, Carnival Corporation’s German market AIDA Cruises brand yesterday took delivery of the world’s first LNG fueled cruise ship, AIDAnova, from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

At 183,900 grt and measuring 337 meters long by 42 meters wide, the 20 deck ship is the largest cruise ship thus far built in Germany and has a 5,200 lower berth passenger capacity (6,600 passenger maximum). One of the many highlights of the ship are the 21 different cabin variants, ranging from a two deck penthouse suite through spacious family cabins to single cabins.

The vessel is powered by four Caterpillar MaK M 46 DF dual-fuel engines and has a total machinery output of 61,760 kW (propulsion power 37.000 kW) enabling it to operate on LNG both in port and at sea.

The engine room unit with its “power station” supplying energy for allship and hotel operations was produced at Meyer’s Neptun Werft in Warnemünde.

“We are incredibly proud to be operating what is currently the world’s most eco-friendly cruise ship, and we will be consistently pursuing this path of continuous development,” said Felix Eichhorn, President AIDA Cruises, in his remarks at the delivery ceremony. “We thank the Meyer Werft shipyard and our many partners for their dedication in implementing our new ideas and concepts, and we are confident that together we have paved the way for the future of cruising with this prototype.”

AIDA Cruises started to invest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a propulsion technology more than ten years ago. In 2021 and 2023, two additional ships from this new AIDA generation will join the AIDA fleet. In less than five years, more than half of all AIDA guests will be traveling on board ships that are either fully or partially powered with low-emission liquefied natural gas.

Carnival Corporation notes that  new LNG-powered ships are also on order for Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises in the U.K,, and Carnival Cruise Line and Princess Cruises in the U.S.

In total, following delivery of AIDAnova, Carnival Corporation has an additional 10 next-generation cruise ships on order that will be powered by LNG in port and at sea, with expected delivery dates between 2019 and 2025

Carnival says that delivery of the first cruise ship to be powered in port and at sea by LNG, underscores its longtime leadership role in developing innovative solutions for sustainability, including the environmental technology breakthrough of making its Advanced Air Quality Systems (AAQS highly functional in the small confines of a cruise ship. Carnival’s Advanced Air Quality Systems, generically known as exhaust gas cleaning systems or scrubbers, are installed on 71 of its more than 100 ships.

Over 40 percent of the Carnival Corporation fleet has cold ironing capabilities, enabling ships to use shoreside electric power where available while in port. The company has also implemented broad initiatives to optimize onboard energy usage and innovative hull designs and coatings to reduce fuel consumption by minimizing frictional drag

The first guests will be welcomed aboard AIDAnova on Tenerife on December 19, 2018.

AIDAcruises says they can look forward to a vast range of entirely new culinary and entertainment choices (more on that HERE).

The iconic AIDA “eye” on the new ship covers an area of 140 sq.m, the AIDA “mouth” is 16.8 m long and the AIDA “tail” is 196 m long