MSC Fantasia Passes Exhaust Gas Cleaning System Test

MSC Cruises The 150,000 dwt cruise ship MSC Fantasia, the first MSC Cruises ship to be retrofitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems, has received its MED Certificate from Bureau Veritas after passing the exhaust gas cleaning system MARPOL test. Swiss-based cruise line MSC Cruises said that the certificate confirms that the ships new equipment is fully in line with the EU Marine Equipment Directive requirements. MSC Fantasia and MSC Preziosa are the companys first ships to be retrofitted with hybrid SOx exhaust gas cleaning systems provided by exhaust abatement solutions manufacturer Yara Marine Technologies. This cutting-edge equipment cleans the ship’s exhaust gases in accordance with the strictest International Maritime Organization’s 0.1% Emission Control Area requirements. It also guarantees compliance with the upcoming 0.5% global sulphur cap requirement that will come into force in 2020, Yara Marine Technologies said. The installation of the process equipment was completed with the ship in full operation, while the dry dock operations, including the exhaust gas cleaning system installation, were carried out at Fincantieris shipyard in Palermo, Italy. MSC Preziosa, the second MSC Cruises ship to have undergone this programme, is scheduled for sea trials during the first week of May, aiming to receive its MED certificate by mid-June. Other ships in MSC Cruises’ fleet are set to be retrofitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems in coming years, ahead of the entry into force of the new international sulphur emissions requirements in January 2020.