Fossil-free Netherlands files a complaint against cruise line MSC due to ‘unjustified’ sustainability claim

These are ships that run on LNG, liquefied natural gas that leads to much lower emissions of harmful substances. According to MSC, LNG delivers climate benefits. Fossil Free NL – an organization of concerned citizens who are part of the climate movement in the Netherlands – combats the latter. According to the citizens’ movement, ships that run on LNG actually worsen the climate problem.

This is believed to be partly due to a phenomenon called methane slip. Because part of the LNG in the ship’s engines does not burn and escapes through the chimney, methane (the main component) is released into the air. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is thirty to seventy times more powerful than CO2.

Just a small amount of escaping methane can offset the climate benefits of LNG. LNG-powered ships also emit more methane than assumed by European regulations, according to recent research by the International Council for Clean Transport (ICCT).

Green mist

“MSC claims to be sustainable with a new class of cruise ships, but in fact they are creating a green fog,” says Leo van Kampenhout of Fossielvrij NL. ‘From their advertising, you as a consumer get the impression that cruising is good for the ocean, while it is one of the most polluting forms of travel.’

MSC advertises a fossil product in which the company greatly emphasizes the sustainability aspect according to Fossielvrij NL, including with the slogan: Cruising the blue in a green way. Van Kampenhout: ‘We find that misleading.’

MSC’s sustainability claims lack concrete information, he says. ‘In previous cases, the Advertising Code Committee has said that these claims must be concretely substantiated. That doesn’t happen here.’

Fossil Free NL recognizes that the use of LNG can lead to a reduction in emissions of harmful sulfur and nitrogen oxides and soot. But according to the organization, climate claims for LNG use are not valid.

‘Paper’ climate gains

Previously, the Norwegian Marine Technology Center warned in a scientific publication about the danger that a switch from fuel oil to LNG could lead to ‘paper’ climate gains.

MSC also recognizes that methane slippage exists. The Swiss company says it is ‘actively working on reducing this’, together with the industry. According to the shipping company, its LNG ships still offer a climate benefit of 20 percent compared to sailing on fuel oil. This is because the CO2 emissions of LNG are lower for the same energy yield.

The company says it limits methane emissions from its LNG ships by, among other things, using so-called shore power as much as possible. This allows ships to be supplied with electricity at the quay, so that polluting gas generators do not have to be run on board. It is precisely these engines that have the highest methane slip.

“Shore power is an important link on the road to a much more ecological way of traveling,” says MSC spokesperson Wim Willems.

New techniques

In addition, the cruise line states that the load on the main engines should be kept at around 80 percent of the maximum power as much as possible, with the least amount of methane being released. The company says it is working on technologies to reduce emissions.

The cruise sector as a whole believes that new technologies can reduce methane slip to zero by the end of the decade, for both new and existing engines.

Fossil Free NL, on the other hand, sees no advantages in the use of LNG, also because methane escapes into the atmosphere during the production of LNG. ‘This fossil fuel is wrongly presented by MSC as a climate solution.’

Fossielvrij NL previously successfully approached the Advertising Code Committee and the courts. For example, the Amsterdam court ruled in March that fifteen expressions in the Fly Responsiblycampaign by KLM about responsible ‘sustainable’ flying were unlawful.

Energy group Shell was reprimanded by the Advertising Code Committee in the past for statements containing unjustified claims about CO2 compensation.