Just a few days prior to MSC Seaview coming into service, excitement is rising high among cruise passengers, port officials, travel agent partners and broader industry.
While about 4000-strong team at Fincantieri shipyard is currently working 24/7 to put the final touches and ready the vessel for its inaugural season, MSC Cruises revealed some key environment-friendly features onboard MSC Seaview, the 3rd next-generation MSC ship to come into service in a matter of just 12 months.
MSC Seaview is due to be one of the more innovative at sea, also when it comes to environmental technology that it will feature. Not only the ship will comply with the highest international standards but will also receive “Green Star 3 Design” notation in recognition of the attention paid to these aspects during the construction of the vessel.
RINA’s Green Star 3 is the latest and most comprehensive edition of RINA’s Green STAR additional class notations, and specifically recognises that the Seaview ship reaches the greatest eco-compatibility levels due to the relevance of the variety of innovative measures put in place that help reduce environmental footprint during operations (exhaust gas cleaning system, advanced waste water treatment, ballast water treatment system, systems for prevention of oil discharge from machinery spaces, and Environmental Management Plan of the ship.
Overview of the innovation featured onboard MSC Seaview:
- Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS) minimizing sulphur and particular matter emissions. The EGCS (developed by Wartsila) is able to remove up to 97.1% of sulphur dioxide, and reduces particulate matter.
- Energy-efficient hull and overall design: the hull, rudder and bulbous bow are configured in order to reach optimal aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and maximize fuel and energy efficiency.
- Shore-to-ship power: Seaview, along with all ships of MSC Cruises that have come into service since 2017, are equipped to receive shoreside power (“cold ironing”).
- Ballast water treatment system that complies with the standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
- Advanced waste water treatment system which meets the high industry standards. This system by Wartsila/Hamworthy treats waste water to a high quality, then processes it further through fine filtration processes, and the end product is high-quality effluent.
- Shipboard Environmental Management plan and a dedicated Environmental Officer who has the duty to instruct and train crew members onboard about environmental/garbage management.
- Trim Optimisation includes software application to optimise and monitor trim in real-time.
- Energy-saving LED lighting (energy efficient LED & fluorescent lighting).
- Smart heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) designed in a smart way to reduce energy consumption, distributing heat and cold and set up to recover heat that can be used to warm up the pools or other parts of the vessel.