EMEA News
STX: Most Environmentally Friendly Large Cruise Vessel Ever Built
A new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered cruise ferry entering traffic between Finland and Sweden on January 15, 2013 will be the "most environmentally friendly large cruise vessel ever built," according to STX Europe, parent company of STX Finland Oy's Turku shipyard, which built the ship.
The shipyard delivered the M/S Viking Grace to Viking Line ABP yesterday.
STX say the ship’s emissions into the sea have been eliminated, and emissions into the air "are remarkably lower than those of any other large passenger ships."
The ship was also said to use novel machinery configuration, energy saving technology, and new ways of using passenger areas to minimise its environmental impact.
"We are proud to be able to deliver a superb, technically advanced cruise ferry to a Finnish shipping company," said Jari Anttila, executive vice president and chief operating officer of STX Finland Oy and Director of STX Turku Shipyard.
"The building process of this vessel has provided us with valuable know-how on putting the developing technology for gas-fuelled ships into practice."
The ship's route across the Baltic Sea is part of a European Emissions Control Area (ECA) where limits on sulfur emissions will fall to will fall to 0.1 percent in 2015, a change that has prompted more interest in LNG fuel.
Finnish gas grid company Gassum said in November that it plans to build three LNG bunker sites for ships sailing on the Baltic Sea.
STX Europe is majority-owned by Korea-based STX Business Group.
