Cruise ships AIDAprima and AIDAsol were the first two vessels from German cruise line AIDA Cruises to be simultaneously supplied with and/or powered with energy produced from liquefied natural gas (LNG) while berthed in the port of Hamburg on May 14.

AIDAprima’s Dual Fuel Motors were supplied directly from an LNG truck at the cruise terminal in Steinwerder, while AIDAsol was supplied in the HafenCity via the LNG hybrid barge, “Hummel”, with power that comes from low-emission LNG.

“This is an important contribution to environmental protection, because compared to the use of conventional marine diesel with 0.1 percent sulfur content emissions and particle discharge will be significantly reduced by using LNG,” the cruise line’s parent company Carnival Corporation said.

“The emission of sulfur oxide and soot particles will be completely prevented. Nitrogen oxide emissions will be reduced by up to 80 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent,” the company added.

Following AIDAprima’s first successful LNG-supply trial run in Hamburg on May 7, 2016, this week the new flagship of the cruise company AIDA Cruises also completed its first LNG operation at the ports of Southampton, Le Havre and Zeebrügge.

With these operations completed, AIDAprima can already be supplied with low-emission power at four ports on its route.

Featuring a length of 300 meters and a width of over 37 meters, AIDAprima is the world’s first cruise ship which can be operated in an environmentally friendly way in port with LNG, the vessel’s owner said.

AIDAprima was officially christened on May 7 during the 827th Hamburg Port Anniversary by the German actress Emma Schweiger.

The cruise line’s first newbuild of a new ship generation, delivered from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Nagasaki on March 14, was built to accommodate 3300 guests and over 900 crew members.