Aida ships are again powered by diesel instead of LNG

Due to increased prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG), the two cruise ships "Aidanova" and "Aidacosma" are currently not using the fuel, which is considered more environmentally friendly. Instead, they have been running on marine gas oil (MGO) - a diesel fuel - for a few weeks, said Aida spokesman Hansjörg Kunze on Thursday. “But we will return to LNG operations if that becomes possible. We cannot foresee the price development.”

"The price increases were significant, not to say explosive," said Kunze. LNG has become three to five times more expensive. A delivery at reasonable prices is not possible. The engines of both ships are built for dual-fuel operation and can use both MGO and LNG. LNG not only reduces local emissions, but is also the bridging technology in the future to possible operation with emission-free gases. The "Aidanova", which went into service in 2018, was the world's first cruise ship that could be operated entirely with LNG. She is currently traveling around the Canary Islands. The Aidacosma is in the Arabian Gulf.

The "Hamburger Abendblatt", which also reported on the AIDA, also refers to the ferry company Fjord Line. This had announced that its two LNG ships, the "MS Stavangerfjord" and "MS Bergensfjord" from pure LNG engines to dual-fuel engines. Unfortunately, rising fuel costs for LNG lead to a profit situation that is not sustainable. "The energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to extraordinarily high and volatile LNG prices," it said in a statement. It is sad to have to make a conversion to also be able to drive with MGO. Routes between Denmark and Norway are affected.

According to the eco-energy cooperative Green Planet Energy, imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) is highly harmful to the climate. The greenhouse gas effect of LNG is at least 50 percent higher than the usual emission factors of natural gas, Green Planet Energy announced on Thursday, citing a report commissioned by the consulting firm Energycomment. As a background, it was said that imported LNG is usually associated with high emissions in the production and transport chain.

According to Green Planet Energy, Energycomment named the large amounts of methane that would escape during the production of natural gas and pipeline transport as a major reason. Over a period of 20 years, methane is 82 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide. In addition, there is the high energy consumption for the LNG liquefaction, the transport by fossil-fuelled special ship and the renewed conversion to gas at the destination.

"If Germany has to stock up on liquid gas as a reaction to the Ukraine war and the Russian gas import ban, the federal government should at least ensure that we limit the use of LNG to the absolute minimum in terms of time and quantity," said Sönke Tangermann, Green's board member PlanetEnergy.