Print
Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
Category: More News More News
Published: 15 July 2017 15 July 2017

Last Saturday (July 8, 2017), AIDAperla, the youngest member of the AIDA Cruises fleet, returned to the port of Palma de Mallorca after its christening and maiden voyage. In addition to Barcelona, Germany’s favorite island is one of the departure and destination ports for the 7-night cruises around the western Mediterranean with AIDAperla in its premiere season.

During the stay at port, Captain Boris Becker welcomed a Majorcan delegation of port and tourism representatives, along with professors from the University of the Balearic Islands. The emphasis of the ship visit was to discuss innovative environmental measures with regard to emission reduction and energy efficiency on board AIDAperla.

After its twin ship AIDAprima (put into service in May 2016), AIDAperla is the second cruise ship in the world to be equipped with a dual-fuel engine for the use of low emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) while docking at port. AIDA Cruises is working with authorities and further partners so that AIDAperla can be supplied with liquefied natural gas (LNG) while she is docked in port. In comparison to conventional fuel, emissions are significantly reduced when liquefied natural gas is used for power generation. A prerequisite for this is the availability of LNG at the respective port. AIDA Cruises is discussing this matter with Mediterranean ports.

"It was a very interesting and informative visit on board AIDAperla. We truly hope that these efforts to transform cruise ships into a sustainable vacation option will serve as an example for other cruise lines. We’re pleased to be the home port for such an eco-friendly ship as AIDAperla," says Pilar Carbonell, Director General of Tourism for the Balearic government.

By deploying the twelfth member of its fleet in Palma de Mallorca, AIDA Cruises is further expanding its commitment to the Balearic Islands off-season as well. With five AIDA ships docking here 88 times in 2017, the company continues to be one of the city’s most important partners. Apart from AIDAperla with a total of 34 stops, Palma de Mallorca is also a travel destination and transfer port for guests on AIDAstella, AIDAblu, AIDAbella and AIDAaura.

AIDA Cruises is one of the fastest growing and commercially most successful tourism businesses in Germany. The company employs about 9,000 people from 40 countries on shore and on board AIDA ships. With currently twelve cruise ships, AIDA operates one of the most state-of-the-art fleets in the world. Two new ships built at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg (Germany) will join the fleet by 2021. From 2018 on, AIDA Cruises will be the world’s first cruise line capable of powering its new generation of ships entirely with LNG (liquefied natural gas).