MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises - Final Grade: "D+"

MSC Cruises was founded in 1970 by an Italian shipping company. Headquartered in Switzerland, MSC Cruises is a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Company, and it is the fourth largest cruise operator in the world, after Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. MSC Cruises currently operates 21 cruise ships, and all of them carry more than 3,000 passengers and crew, with the line’s newest ships, MSC Seashore and MSC World Europa, accommodating more than 7,000 passengers and crew respectively.

Of the 21 MSC cruise ships, 14 have installed advanced sewage treatment systems, resulting in a grade of D for the company’s 40 percent sewage treatment score. In the air pollution reduction category, only 11 of MSC’s ships have shoreside plug-in capability and currently eight travel to a port with shoreside power hookups, earning the line a D-. No MSC cruise ships traveled to Alaska between 2010 and 2021. However, 15 MSC ships have installed scrubbers. Together these factors give MSC an F for water quality compliance since scrubber use merely converts air pollution into toxic water pollution.

MSC Cruises is one of the cruise lines that responded to our inquiries about its environmental practices with specifics, awarding them an A for transparency.

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MSC Cruises - Cruise Ship Fleet

Ship Name Cruise Line Total Persons on Board Destinations Sewage Treatment

Sewage Treatment

Has the cruise line installed the most advanced sewage and wastewater treatment systems available instead of dumping minimally treated sewage directly into the water? In determining a cruise line’s Sewage Treatment grade, we compared the number of cruise ships in the cruise line that have installed advanced sewage treatment systems against the total number of ships in the cruise line. Ships with AWTS were downgraded in 2020 since no companies publicly report on the performance of those advanced systems.

 Air Pollution Reduction

Air Pollution Reduction

Has the cruise line installed shorepower or adopted cleaner fuel worldwide? In determining the Air Pollution Reduction grade for each ship in a cruise line, ships that dock at a port and plug in to available shoreside power hookups were graded. In addition, ships were given credit if they utilize low sulfur fuels continuously worldwide at levels lower than required by international law. Use of scrubbers is not considered since the scrubbers in use by the cruise industry simply convert air pollution emissions into water pollution through their scrubber wastewater discharges.

 Water Quality Compliance

Water Quality Compliance

To what degree did cruise ships violate water pollution standards designed to better protect the Alaskan coast? In determining the Water Quality Compliance grade for cruise ships, we used notices of violation issued for individual cruise ships to each cruise line by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation from 2010 to 2019. In addition, we downgraded ships for their use of scrubbers since scrubbers convert air pollution emissions into water pollution.

 Final Ship Grade
Curved Grading Scale
A 100-85 Excellent
B 84-70 Satisfactory
C 69-50 Needs Work
D 49-25 Poor
F 24-0 Unacceptable
N/A Not Graded No Discharge in Alaskan Waters or Scrubber Use

**For the 2021 Cruise Ship Report Card, we graded 18 cruise lines and 202 cruise ships of those 18 lines operating around the world. All cruise ships from each cruise line were included in this report card. Friends of the Earth relied on data gathered from the internet, government sources, the cruise line industry, and other public sources in order to determine the grades assigned to the cruise lines. Friends of the Earth did not independently verify that the technology graded in the report card was installed on the individual cruise ships.
MSC Seascape MSC Cruises 5877 Caribbean, Europe, Florida, New York 05 04 04
MSC World Europa MSC Cruises 8850 Mediterranean, Middle East 05 04 04
MSC Virtuosa MSC Cruises 8755 Europe, Mediterranean, Middle East 05 07 00 03
MSC Preziosa MSC Cruises 5733 Europe, Mediterranean, South America 05 00 00 00
MSC Bellisima MSC Cruises 7250 Asia, Europe 05 04 00 02
MSC Magnifica MSC Cruises 4250 Asia, Australia, Europe, Mediterranean, South America 05 07 00 03
MSC Armonia MSC Cruises 3459 Mediterranean 00 00 00
MSC Seashore MSC Cruises 7525 Caribbean, Mediterranean, South America, Florida 05 07 00 03
MSC Seaside MSC Cruises 6632 Caribbean, Mediterranean, South America, Florida 05 07 00 03
MSC Meraviglia MSC Cruises 7250 Caribbean, Mediterranean, Florida 05 07 00 03
MSC Divina MSC Cruises 5733 Caribbean, Florida 05 00 01
MSC Musica MSC Cruises 4000 Mediterranean, South America 00 00 00 00
MSC Seaview MSC Cruises 6532 Caribbean, Mediterranean, South America, Florida 05 07 00 03
MSC Fantasia MSC Cruises 5733 Mediterranean 05 00 00 00
MSC Sinfonia MSC Cruises 3400 Mediterranean, South Africa 00 00 N/A 00
MSC Orchestra MSC Cruises 4187 Mediterranean, South Africa 00 00 00 00
MSC Opera MSC Cruises 3407 Mediterranean, North Africa 00 00 00
MSC Lirica MSC Cruises 3431 Mediterranean 00 00 00 00
MSC Poesia MSC Cruises 4632 Asia, Europe, Mediterranean 00 07 00 00
MSC Grandiosa MSC Cruises 8038 Europe, Mediterranean 05 07 00 03
MSC Splendida MSC Cruises 5733 Europe, Mediterranean, South America 05 00 00 00

 

Grading Methodology For The 2022 Cruise Ship Report Card

Friends of the Earth’s Cruise Ship Report Card ranks 18 major cruise lines and 213 cruise ships — AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Oceania Cruises, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean Int’l, Seabourn Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises, Viking Cruises, and Virgin Voyages — according to four environmental criteria: Sewage Treatment, Air Pollution Reduction, Water Quality Compliance and Transparency.

Sewage Treatment
To determine a cruise line’s Sewage Treatment grade, we compared the number of cruise ships in the cruise line that have installed advanced sewage treatment systems (AWTS) against the total number of ships in the cruise line. Ships with AWTS have been downgraded from As to Cs since 2020 because no companies publicly report on the performance of those advanced systems.

Air Pollution Reduction
To determine the Air Pollution Reduction grade for each ship in a cruise line, ships that dock at a port and plug in to available shoreside power hookups were graded. In addition, ships were given credit if they utilize low sulfur fuels continuously worldwide at levels lower than required by international law. Use of scrubbers is not considered since the significant majority of scrubbers in use by the cruise industry simply convert air pollution emissions into water pollution through their scrubber wastewater discharges.

Water Quality Compliance
To determine the Water Quality Compliance grade for ships operating in Alaska, we used notices of violation issued for individual cruise ships to each cruise line by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation from 2010 to 2021. We also failed ships for their scrubber use since scrubbers convert air pollution emissions into water pollution.

Transparency
To determine the Transparency grade for each cruise line we graded each cruise line based on whether it responded to our 2022 requests for information regarding their environmental practices. Companies that responded with specifics were given As, those that didn’t received failing grades.

Grades In Comparison: Report Cards From Previous Years

2022 Cruise Ship Report Card
2021 Cruise Ship Report Card
2020 Cruise Ship Report Card
2019 Cruise Ship Report Card
2016 Cruise Ship Report Card
2014 Cruise Ship Report Card
2013 Cruise Ship Report Card
2012 Cruise Ship Report Card
2010 Cruise Ship Report Card
2009 Cruise Ship Report Card

**For the 2022 Cruise Ship Report Card, we graded 18 cruise lines and 213 cruise ships of those 18 lines operating around the world. All cruise ships from each cruise line were included in this report card. Friends of the Earth relied on data gathered from the internet, government sources, the cruise line industry, and other public sources in order to determine the grades assigned to the cruise lines. Friends of the Earth did not independently verify that the technology graded in the report card was installed on the individual cruise ships.