First cruise ship tests on board hydrogen

The 47,800-tonne, 465-cabin small cruise ship ’marks a quantum leap in the longstanding cooperation between Viking and Financantieri for deisgning, delivering and operating environmentally considerate cruise vessels’, Fincantieri says – because it is the first to have a hydrogen fuel cell incorporated in its design.

The 100kW cell has been fitted as a test as a move towards increasingly bringing hydrogen on board, and will power some of the onboard operations on the boat.

”Such installation is particularly important for tuning technological devices and developing rules and regulations for use of hydrogen on board a cruise vessel,” the company says.

Viking and Fincantieri aim to develop large-scale hydrogen applications and as a first step they have designed an enlarged vessel configuration that will be applied to all vessels deliveered after 2024, with a focus on accommodating the larger size of the hydrogen tank, fuel cell systems and auxiliary equipment. 

“The second step will be the development of a hydrogen-based generation system with a total power of about 6-7MW, and able to ensure smokeless port operation and slow steaming navigation,” the firms say, adding that once they have been proved, these systems could be retrofitted on some vessels already delivered. 

Viking Neptune is the 15^th ship added to Viking’s fleet this year alone, which is also the company’s 25^th anniversary.