Carnival says it will expand its use of exhaust gas cleaning systems as part of a $400m investment to meet pending rules that will limit shipping's sulphur emissions.
The world's largest cruise ship operator says it has installed exhaust gas cleaning systems, otherwise known as scrubbers, on 60 vessels so far. As reported in TradeWinds, the company has set a goal of installing scrubbers on some 70 ships by the end of this year.
Carnival now plans to have scrubbers on some 85 ships by the end of 2020, said Mike Kaczmarek, vice president of corporate marine technology at Carnival.
"Due to the success we have had with improving air quality with our systems, we have expanded our commitment to install and deploy this technology from an original 32 vessels to over 85 through the end of 2020," Kaczmarek said.
The shipowner, which runs European-focused cruise lines such as Aida, Costa, Cunard, and Holland America, will be required to meet 0.1% sulphur emissions for vessels operating in Europea's emission control areas (ECA) in the North and Baltic Seas, and English Channel.
Current ECA rules establish a 0.5% sulphur cap. But the European Union is lowering that cap to 0.1% by 2020. The International Maritime Organisation has set a preliminary deadline of 2020 for a global 0.5% sulphur cap, down from the 3.5% sulphur cap currently in effect.
