MSC Cruises’ newest ship will use two “state-of-the-art” systems to reduce its environmental impact.

MSC Grandiosa will incorporate a selective catalytic reduction system (SCR) and next-generation advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) process.

The SCR will reduce nitrogen oxide by 90 per cent through advanced active emissions control technology, while the AWT will help transform wastewater to near tap-water quality. The system meets the so-called ‘Baltic Standard’ and treats the wastewater to a higher standard than most standards available in cities around the world.

MSC Grandiosa, which will be christened in Hamburg on 9 November, will also be fitted with shore-to-ship power to connect the ship while at berth to a port’s local power grid to further reduce the ship’s air emissions while in port. This is a feature that is broadly available across MSC Cruises’ entire fleet and has come as standard across all its new builds since 2017.

These new features add to other environmental technologies deployed on the ship and across the MSC fleet, including a cutting-edge hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) that remove sulphur oxide from ship emissions.

MSC Grandiosa is the third Meraviglia-class of ship to enter MSC Cruises’ fleet and the first of three Meraviglia-plus ships. It will be MSC Cruises’ fifth new ship to enter into service in the past 30 months and is part of a plan to build 17 ships between 2017 and 2027.

MSC recently laid the keel for MSC Seashore, which enters service in June 2021 and is the first of two improved Seaside Evo-class ships.