In doing so, the two companies will aim at setting a new standard in LNG bunkering for cruise ships that meets the unique future requirements of the industry, they remarked.
MSC Cruises and ARTA unveiled their joint program at the 2017 LNG Bunkering Summit in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
MSC Cruises is building up to four 200,000gt plus World-class LNG-powered cruise ships at STX France as part of a €9bn investment plan for the construction of eleven new next-generation cruise ships in the next ten years.
The first two will be delivered in 2022 and 2024, respectively and the cruise company has been actively exploring the market for the most suitable LNG bunkering solution.
After nearly one year of research and analysis, MSC Cruises and ARTA have partnered up to develop a tailor-made LNG bunkering system that takes full account of the cruise industry’s specific needs.
Yves Bui, MSC Cruises’ LNG project director, said: 'With up to four LNG-powered cruise ships scheduled to join our fleet, we are highly committed to developing the best possible technologies and systems to support the introduction of LNG to cruising.'
In ARTA, we have found a partner that matches our focus on innovation and the best maritime technology at sea and that understands our industry’s specific needs,' said Bui.
The result is a system that features a newly developed coupling and decoupling mechanism as well as a double-walled hose that will allow us to conduct bunkering operations without disrupting the activities taking place on board the ship.
'The result of this cooperation is a highly resistant double-walled corrugated stainless steel hose designed to transfer LNG from the bunkering ship, or shore facility, to the cruise ship. The double wall and complete vacuum insulation adds an additional layer of protection, while keeping the gas at -162°C throughout the entire process. In addition, the ‘male’ and ‘female’ quick connect/disconnect coupling incorporate double sealing technology.'
Andreas von Keitz, ARTA’s md, added: 'Thanks to our partnership with MSC Cruises we have been able to fully understand cruise ship bunkering needs and have put over 40 years of our bunkering engineering experience to good use. The result is a technologically advanced solution that will help ensure that the double wall principle is maintained across the entire LNG bunkering supply chain.'
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