'Dead Fish' to Power Cruise Ship
As shipowners globally explore new means to cut emissions and stay competitive, Norway's Hurtigruten has a potential solutione: Dead fish and other organic waste as fuel for its 17-vessel fleet of green cruise ships.
Courtesy of its Norwegian heritage, Hurtigruten is already one of the world’s largest expedition cruise line, heavily invested in green technology to better serve the pristine aquatic environments where it conducts its business.
As the maritime world looks to the IMO mandate to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050, Hurtigruten is already enacting its green vision, powering cruise ships with liquified biogas (LBG) – fossil-free, renewable gas produced from dead fish and other organic waste.
"By introducing biogas as fuel for cruise ships, Hurtigruten will be the first cruise company to power ships with fossil-free fuel," said Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam.
By 2021, Hurtigruten plans to operate at least 6 of its ships on a combination of biogas, LNG and large battery packs. "Biogas is the greenest fuel in shipping, and will be a huge advantage for the environment. We would love other cruise companies to follow," said Skjeldam. Other environmental milestones for the company include:
• The ban of single-use plastic.
• Introduction of the world’s first battery-hybrid powered cruise ship, MS Roald Amundsen, custom built for sustainable operations in some of the world’s most pristine waters such as Antarctica.
• The start of a large-scale green upgrade project, replacing traditional diesel propulsion with battery packs and gas engines on several Hurtigruten ships. In addition to liquified natural gas (LNG), these ships will also be the first cruise ships in the world to run on liquified biogas (LBG).
Hurtigruten is currently building three hybrid powered expedition cruise ships at Norway’s Kleven Yard. MS Roald Amundsen, MS Fridtjof Nansen and the third, unnamed sister, will be delivered in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Hurtigruten expects to invest more than $850 million in building the world’s greenest cruise line.
