Silverseas latest cruise ship, ‘Silver Nova’, designed with capability for zero emissions in port, has begun service with its initial cruise starting from Venice and visiting several locations in the Mediterranean.
The 244m long, 54,700gt ship is the largest in the Royal Caribbean brand Silverseas fleet, and was built at Meyer Werft in Germany. With a maximum occupancy of 728 passengers and 556 crew members, Silver Nova is aimed at the high end of the cruise market.
The vessel features LNG-fuelled engines, plus a hybrid arrangement of fuel cell and batteries which, when used in conjunction with shore power, will enable the ship to operate with zero emissions while in port as well as supplement the main machinery, covering peak power loads . Plans include expansion of fuel cell capacity to cover all hotel loads. This arrangement is believed to offer a 40% cut in CO2 emissions overall when compared to previous cruise ships. A further benefit of this technology is quieter operation; previous Silverseas vessels were designed with cabins forward and public areas aft, keeping cabins away from the machinery spaces. Silver Nova adopts a more convenient ‘horizontal’ design with cabins and public areas spaced throughout the length of the ship.
The Nova class vessels will aim for further sustainability by reducing the amount of onboard waste, resulting in lower incineration and less material for shoreside disposal. The low-emission machinery, and hydrodynamically design hull result in an EEDI rating some 25% better than IMO standards.
