Hurtigruten cruise ships will soon be powered with dead fish, the company announced Monday.
“What others see as a problem, we see as a resource and a solution,” the company said in a press release. “By introducing biogas as fuel for cruise ships, Hurtigruten will be the first cruise company to power ships with fossil-free fuel.”
The company said it will operate ships with liquefied biogas (LBG), which is a renewable gas produced from dead fish and other organic waste. Considered the most environmentally friendly fuel available, biogas is already being used in small parts of the transportation sector, particularly in buses, the company said. Biogas is different from biofuel produced from palm tree oil or from soil that could be used for growing crops.
By 2021, Hurtigruten plans to run at least six of its cruise ships using biogas, large battery packs and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The Norwegian company, which calls itself the world’s largest expedition cruise line, already invests heavily in green technology such as battery solutions, and it notes that Norway has large fisheries and forestry sectors that produce organic waste that can be used in biogas production.
Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam says he hopes other companies will follow Hurtigruten’s lead in using biogas and being powered by nature.
The company said it is investing more than $850 million in building the world’s greenest cruise line. Currently under construction are three hybrid-powered cruise ships, the MS Roald Amundsen, MS Fridtjob Nansen and another as-yet-unnamed ship, to be delivered in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The Roald Amundsen, which has been designed for sustainable operations in places with pristine waters, like Antarctica, will be the world’s first battery-hybrid powered cruise ship when it launches in 2019, the company said.
Also in 2019, the company’s regular diesel propulsion on several ships will be replaced with battery packs and gas engines, preparing them for the next step of using the liquefied biogas.
Frederic Hauge, founder of the Bellona Foundation, an international environmental NGO based in Norway, said Hurtigruten’s plans to use renewable fuels in the cruise industry provides hope for finding sustainable solutions.
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