MSC Cruises  published its 2023 Sustainability Report with a performance review of the 12-month period in the areas of environment, social and governance.

The report also includes information on the line’s sister company and luxury travel brand, Explora Journeys, which launched EXPLORA I last year, the first of six vessels in its fleet. Also included are detailed data tables including operations, emissions, water, waste, headcount and gender distribution.

Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Group’s Cruise Division, said, “We began publishing an annual Sustainability Report in 2019, making this our fifth report. During that time, our commitment to reaching our goals remains as strong as ever. Our approach to environmental, social, and governance issues has become more sophisticated as we have employed more ways to manage our activities in a more dynamic manner. This reflects our passion to not just align with stakeholder expectations and navigate a complex regulatory landscape, but to make meaningful measurable changes that have a long-term positive impact on our guests, our employees and our planet. 

“We remain fully committed to our goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in line with the International Maritime Organization’s strategy but achieving net zero emissions cannot be done alone. We continue to work extensively with our close partners including the shipyards, technology providers, fuel providers and many others and I am pleased with the progress we as an industry are making. We continue to advocate to be regulated in a fair way, which does not discriminate against our industry.”

Highlights of MSC Cruises’ 2023 activities include:

• Fleet carbon intensity improved by 6.5 per cent compared to 2022, marking a 37.8 per cent reduction since 2008. The progress puts the line on track to achieve the IMO’s target of a 40 per cent carbon intensity reduction before its 2030 deadline.
• Second liquified natural gas (LNG)-powered vessel launched, MSC Euribia, with a net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions voyage from France to Denmark. MSC Cruises remains committed to LNG as a critical pathway towards maritime decarbonisation. Fossil LNG offers immediate GHG emission reductions compared to conventional marine fuels and a direct pathway to renewable alternatives like bio-LNG and synthetic renewable LNG.
• Successful shore power connections numbered 44 for the line’s ships at eight ports in Norway, Germany, UK and Malta. Shore power plays an important role in MSC Cruise’s strategy to lower emissions as this allows its ships to plug into a port’s electrical grid at berth and shut down the vessel’s engines to eliminate direct emissions when in port. The 2024 year-end target is 220 connections and the line is fully committed to utilise shore power in every port where it is available.
• Freshwater management produced 87.2 per cent of the fleet’s onboard water needs – more than 6.4 million cubic metres – through desalination. Using water more efficiently resulted in a reduction of onboard water consumption from 226 litres per guest day in 2022 to 187 litres in 2023, a reduction of 17.2 per cent.
• Collaborated with nature intelligence and environmental DNA specialists NatureMetrics to analyse seawater samples from three vessels, identifying more than 4,000 different animal species using DNA identification techniques, with results being made available to the scientific community.  The project has global reach with the data contributing to the eBioAtlas, a global programme by NatureMetrics and IUCN.

The report also shows that in 2023 MSC Cruises’ fleet of 22 ships carried 4,081,393 guests, sailed 385 itineraries to 102 countries in the world and offered 2,150 shore excursions.

The workforce totaled 49,874 representing 144 different nationalities with 18,866 new crew hires during the year.  A new package of crew initiatives was introduced in 2023 with increased salaries, improved staff rotation and more training.