Norwegian Cruise Line launches revamped decarbonisation strategy

Norwegian Cruise Line has launched a revamped climate action strategy along with short- and near-term greenhouse gas to support the company’s ambitious pursuit of net-zero by 2050. 

Key components of the Company’s new interim GHG reduction targets include:

• Reduce GHG intensity by 10% by 2026 and 25% by 2030, compared to a 2019 baseline with intensity measured on a per capacity day basis.
• The targets cover the company’s emissions from its fleet of ships, islands and facilities as well as upstream fuel- and energy-related activities, including well-to-tank emissions. As such, the targets will capture the full well-to-wake emissions impact of the fuel consumption.
• Interim targets provide a roadmap to support the existing net zero by 2050 ambition. The scope of this commitment expands to the entire greenhouse gas footprint, including its network of suppliers and partners across its value chain.

Furthermore, the strategy will focus on three areas: efficiency, innovation and collaboration. The cruise firm aims to optimize efficiency in the existing fleet which can have an immediate impact to onboard power consumption and GHG emissions as well as generate fuel savings.

This includes both ongoing investments in systems and technologies, such as HVAC system upgrades and waste heat recovery systems, as well as operational enhancements.

On the other hand, Norwegian Cruise Lines is also exploring new solutions to operate on green fuels. Since 2022, the company has successfully completed tests of biofuel blends on multiple ships, in which a blend of approximately 30% biofuel and 70% marine gas oil has been used. 

The firm believes that biodiesel is a viable transition fuel that can support the decarbonization journey as long-term solutions are tested and scaled.

In the long term, the cruise shipowner views green methanol as a promising solution and recently announced the modification of the final two Prima-class ships, expected to be delivered in 2027 and 2028, to accommodate the use of green methanol as an alternative fuel source in the future.

German engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions has been selected to retrofit the vessel with its four-stroke MAN 48/60 engine to dual-fuel operation

The use of green methanol would result in a drastic reduction in emissions, including an up to 95% reduction in CO₂, and its properties enable the continued use of conventional fuel storage and bunkering with fewer modifications compared to other emerging fuels in the market at this time.

However, the production of green methanol is still in the early stages and will require continued investments to sufficiently scale for distribution and consumption globally.

The company is also equipping its ships with the technology needed to plug-in, targeting to have approximately 70% of its fleet equipped by 2025.

“We are proud to further refine and strengthen our climate action strategy and commitments including by setting milestone GHG intensity reduction targets which will guide us on our ambitious pursuit of net zero by 2050,” said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer-elect of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings

“We are encouraged to see the significant progress and momentum across sectors to decarbonize, but fundamental challenges continue to exist for the cruise industry to fully decarbonize by 2050,” said Jessica John, vice president of ESG, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

“Rather than waiting for these challenges to dissolve, our strategy is about acting now to implement solutions for efficiency today, innovate for future solutions and collaborate with our stakeholders along the way.”