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AIDAprima hosts international LNG Conference

Expert forum explores the practical use oflow-emission liquefied gas on board cruise ships

As part of the international trade conference "MakingLNG Happen: Combining Forces for Sustainable Shipping," 80 leadingrepresentatives from the fields of business, politics and science visited thecruise ship AIDAprima in Rotterdam on Thursday, January 26, 2017. The guestsincluded Dirk Brengelmann, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in theNetherlands and his Norwegian colleague Martin Sørby.

On board of the first cruise ship in the world thatuses a dual-fuel engine to produce its energy from low-emission liquefied gas(LNG) while docked at port, leading LNG experts from Germany, Norway and theNetherlands informed themselves about the practical experiences of AIDA Cruiseswith the use of LNG.
After the first successful test run for the LNG supplyof AIDAprima in Hamburg on May 7, 2016, the cruise ship is successfully beingprovided with LNG while docked at all ports on its route – Hamburg, Rotterdam,Le Havre, Southampton and Zeebrugge. This is a significant contribution toenvironmental protection, since an AIDA ship spends about 40 percent of itsoperating time in a port. Compared to using conventional marine diesel with 0.1percent sulfur content, emissions are considerably reduced even further byusing LNG. Sulfur oxides and soot particles can be prevented completely.Nitrogen oxide emission is reduced by up to 80 percent and CO₂ emissionsare lowered by 20 percent.

"We believe in LNG as the fuel with the lowestemissions that is currently available and have been performing pioneering workin this area for many years. In the summer of 2015 we announced that we will bethe first cruise company worldwide to operate the ships of the next AIDAgeneration – which are being built at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg andcommissioned as of 2019 – 100 percent with LNG. We are pleased that othercruise lines are now also following our example and have ordered newconstructions with LNG fuel as well," said Dr. Monika Griefahn, Chief SustainableOfficer AIDA Cruises at the trade conference in Rotterdam. "However, we also need the support of the ports andLNG producers to invest in the necessary infrastructure," Dr. Monika Griefahncontinued.

AIDA Cruises invested in the research and testing ofapplications to use LNG in cruise ships early on. We collaborated on the LNGhybrid barge together with Becker Marine Systems in 2013 to develop and launchan innovative and flexible solution for providing environmentally friendlyenergy to the ships using liquefied gas while they are moored in the Hamburgharbor. Since May 30, 2015, AIDAsol has been supplied with low-emission powerfrom liquefied gas (LNG) at the Hafencity Cruise Terminal; in 2016 alone thisincluded 16 arrivals.

AIDA Cruises has transparently documented itscommitment to the environment and society in its Sustainability Report "AIDAcares" since 2007. In this report it also lists all of the relevantenvironmental key figures. In addition to reducing emissions, increased efficiencyis a significant factor in eco-friendly ship operation.

The ships in the AIDA fleet only use 3 liters of fuelon average per person on board for a 100-kilometer trip. This was alreadyconfirmed by experts at DNV GL in an independent study in 2012. Thanks to theuse of state-of-the-art, energy-efficient environmental technologies and theeconomical handling of resources, additional progress was made in 2016. Forexample, nine percent less energy was used per person on board than in 2012.During the same time period, the water consumption per person on board droppedby 7.2 percent and the emission of carbon dioxide by 7.7 percent.
More information about the environmental commitment ofAIDA Cruises is available in the current Sustainability Report "AIDA cares2016" at www.aida.de/aidacares.

Rostock, January 27, 2017

Issuer:
AIDA Cruises
Am Strande 3d I 18055 Rostock
Ph.: +49 (0) 381 / 444-0
Fax: + 49 (0) 381 / 444-88 88
www.aida.de

Communication:
Hansjörg Kunze
Vice President of Communication & Sustainability
Ph.: +49 (0) 381 / 444-80 20
Fax: + 49 (0) 381 / 444-80 25
presse@aida.de

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