Vasco da Gama Re-vamped
Many may remember the Vasco da Gama from her days with Cruise & Maritime Voyages back in 2019 or even further back when she was the Pacific Eden for P&O Cruises Australia. Prior to that, Vasco da Gama previously served as MS Statendam from 1993 to 2015, where she was the lead member of Holland America Line’s eponymous Statendam class, otherwise known as S class.
Since then, German owned nicko cruises have purchased the vessel and completed a series of upgrades, improvements and repairs ready for her inaugural world voyage with the brand in 2023.
Sustainability is a key focus of the brand and, as such a double-digit million Euro figure has been spent on bringing the Vasco da Gama up and beyond current legal and environmental regulations. Improvements include converting the previous heavy fuel oil to the new use of low-sulphur marine gas oil. Marine gas oil fuel contains far lower levels of particulate matter and soot than the heavy fuel oil and studies show that MGO produces 70 to 85 per cent less sulphur oxide than conventional heavy fuels.
The ship has been fitted with state-of-the-art Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology, which uses urea to neutralise nitrogen oxides. All five engines are equipped with SCR converters, effectively reducing nitrogen oxide levels on the Vasco da Gama by up to 95 per cent. The use of this sustainable technology means the Vasco da Gama complies with the TIER III exhaust gas regulations set out by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This specialised agency of the United Nations has set itself the goal of reducing the marine pollution caused by ships within the framework of the MARPOL Convention.
Vasco da Gama also features a new wastewater system designed by the Berlin-based company MARTIN Systems GmbH. Developed and manufactured in Germany, the biological wastewater treatment system provides excellent wastewater quality, reduces suspended solids to zero and meets the latest international and local requirements without the need for chemicals. MARTIN Systems deploys a membrane-based technology with extremely fine pores to separate bacteria and microplastics as well as phosphorus and nitrogen from the water, resulting in treated wastewater of bathing-water quality that can even be discharged into the Baltic Sea, where particularly strict rules apply. It goes without saying that the BMA® 2200 S wastewater treatment system thus also meets the standards of the IMO and the MARPOL Convention MEPC.227(64).
Even the underside of the ship has been given an eco-friendly face-lift with the paint changed to a silicone-based coating that does not release any toxic substances into the sea. This also prevents vegetation and other deposits from forming on the bottom of the ship, helping to decrease fuel consumption that can be caused by water resistance. It’s estimated that this will reduce fuel consumption by a further six percent.
