Delivery of the World’s First LNG Cruise Ship
Today in Bremerhaven, the Meyer Werft from Papenburg handed over the world’s first LNG (liquid natural gas) cruise ship to AIDA Cruises (Rostock). The largest cruise ship ever built in Germany will be setting new standards in terms of environmental compatibility with its innovative LNG technology. The emissions produced by the ship will be cut drastically by using the clean fuel LNG.
Before the ship was handed over, AIDANova had proven its seaworthiness during three sea trials on the North Sea when many technical and nautical systems were successfully put to the test. The engine room unit with the modern power station supplying energy for all the ship and hotel operations was made at Neptun Werft in Warnemünde. The four very low-emission dual fuel engines came from Caterpillar (Kiel/Rostock) and can run 100% on LNG both at sea and in port.
The AIDAnova is the first of three new ships for the AIDA brand. The other ships with a rating of over 183,000GRT and capacity for more than 2,500 cabins each will be reinforcing the AIDA fleet at the end of 2021 and 2023. Six other ships for Carnival Corporation (Miami) for other brands of the group have already been ordered in Papenburg and with Meyer Turku.
Technical equipment and organisation systems for the very best in entertainment concepts are standard for cruise ships from Papenburg. Besides numerous entertainment possibilities, many other technical systems on board the ship help to protect the environment, illustrated clearly by features such as the electric pod drive, improved hydrodynamics, heat recovery or extensive water cleaning systems.
New ground was broken in building the AIDAnova with many technical innovations. The shipyard received support and assistance in the form of innovation grants from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the state of Lower Saxony.