In a press release issued on June 20th, MSC Cruises published its 2023 Sustainability Report, reviewing the company’s performance pertaining to environmental, social and governance issues. The report also includes information on the line’s sister company and luxury travel brand, Explora Journeys, which launched EXPLORA I last year, the first of six vessels in its fleet. Also included are detailed data tables including operations, emissions, water, waste, headcount and gender distribution.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Group’s Cruise Division, said: “We began publishing an annual Sustainability Report in 2019, making this our fifth report. During that time, our commitment to reaching our goals remains as strong as ever. Our approach to environmental, social, and governance issues has become more sophisticated as we have employed more ways to manage our activities in a more dynamic manner. This reflects our passion to not just align with stakeholder expectations and navigate a complex regulatory landscape, but to make meaningful measurable changes that have a long-term positive impact on our guests, our employees and our planet.
“We remain fully committed to our goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in line with the International Maritime Organization’s strategy but achieving net zero emissions cannot be done alone. We continue to work extensively with our close partners including the shipyards, technology providers, fuel providers and many others and I am pleased with the progress we as an industry are making. We continue to advocate to be regulated in a fair way, which does not discriminate against our industry.”
Highlights of MSC Cruises’ 2023 activities include:
- Fleet carbon intensity improved by 6.5 percent compared to 2022, marking a 37.8 percent reduction since 2008. The progress puts the line on track to achieve the IMO’s target of a 40 percent carbon intensity reduction before its 2030 deadline.
- Second liquified natural gas (LNG)-powered vessel launched, MSC Euribia, with a net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions voyage from France to Denmark. MSC Cruises remains committed to LNG as a critical pathway toward maritime decarbonization. Fossil LNG offers immediate GHG emission reductions compared to conventional marine fuels and a direct pathway to renewable alternatives like bio-LNG and synthetic renewable LNG.
- Successful shore power connections numbered 44 for the line’s ships at eight ports in Norway, Germany, UK and Malta. Shore power plays an important role in MSC Cruise’s strategy to lower emissions as it allows ships to plug into a port’s electrical grid at berth and shut down the vessel’s engines to eliminate direct emissions while docked. The 2024 year-end target is 220 connections and the line is fully committed to utilize shore power at every port where it is available.
- Freshwater management produced 87.2 percent of the fleet’s onboard water needs – more than 162 million cubic feet – through desalination. Using water more efficiently resulted in a reduction of onboard water consumption from 59 gallons per guest day in 2022 to 49 gallons in 2023, a reduction of 17.2 percent.
- Collaborated with nature intelligence and environmental DNA specialist NatureMetrics to analyze seawater samples from three vessels, identifying more than 4,000 different animal species using DNA identification techniques, with results being made available to the scientific community. The project has global reach with the data contributing to the eBioAtlas, a global program by NatureMetrics and IUCN.
The report also shows that MSC Cruises’ fleet of 22 ships carried 4,081,393 guests, sailed 385 itineraries to 102 countries in the world and offered 2,150 shore excursions throughout 2023.
The workforce totaled 49,874, representing 144 different nationalities with 18,866 new crew hires during the year. A new package of crew initiatives was introduced in 2023 with increased salaries, improved staff rotation and more training.
The 2023 Sustainability Report is available at here
