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MSC Cruises and Yara Marine Technologies, a manufacturer of exhaust abatement solutions, have announced that the MSC Fantasia - the first MSC Cruises ship to be retrofitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems - has received its EU Marine Equipment Directive (MED) Certificate from Bureau Veritas after passing MARPOL's scrubber test.

The project was led by a team from STX France, the yard that originally built the two vessels. The installation of the process equipment was completed with the ship in full operation, while the dry dock operations - namely the exhaust gas cleaning system installation - were carried out at Fincantieri's shipyard in Palermo.

The MSC Preziosa - the second MSC Cruises ship to have undergone this programme - is scheduled for sea trials during the first week of May, with the cruise operator aiming to receive the MED certificate for this vessel by mid-June.

MSC Cruises says that other ships in its fleet are set to be retrofitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems in the "coming years", ahead of the entry into force of stricter emission requirements in 2020.

Yara's exhaust gas cleaning technology is designed to clean the ship's exhaust gases in accordance with the strictest International Maritime Organization (IMO) 0.1 percent Emission Control Area (ECA) requirements. It is also said to guarantee compliance with the upcoming 0.5 percent global sulphur cap that will come into force in January 2020.

"Innovation and respect for the environment are core values for our company and absolutely central to how we design, build and develop our ships," said Emilio La Scala, President & Managing Director of MSC Cruises' Technical Department. "For this reason, we are pleased to have received Bureau Veritas' MED Certificate for our first vessel as we continue to work to meet existing as well as upcoming international sulphur emissions requirements."

Kai Latun, Yara Marine's VP Sales and Marketing, remarked: "We are very happy that MSC Cruises has received the MED Certificate from Bureau Veritas for the first cruise ship that has been retrofitted with our exhaust gas cleaning systems. This certifies that MSC Fantasia's systems run according to design and is ready to comply with the upcoming global sulphur regulations from 2020."

Image: MSC Fantasia