Greenwashing complaints prompt cruise company to remove adverts

Some of the cruise company’s newest ships use LNG, often touted as more ‘clean’ than other fuels

MSC Cruises has agreed to comply with the ASA resolution over advertising LNG as ‘cleaner fuel’ (Getty Images)

MSC Cruises has agreed to remove advertising statements which promoted liquefied natural gas as “cleaner fuel” after an environmental NGO submitted a complaint.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) is reported to have informally resolved a complaint made by NGO Opportunity Green against MSC Cruises over environmental claims the cruise line made about liquefied natural gas (LNG).

After a nine-month investigation by the ASA, MSC Cruises has agreed to withdraw the complained-of adverts and has committed to being clear with consumers in the future over its environmental claims.

Opportunity Green said in a release that it complained that MSC’s brand campaign that launched at the beginning of 2024 “For a greater beauty” had encouraged passengers to cruise in a more conscious way and reach destinations “with a cleaner fuel”.

However, the NGO took issue with this due to MSC Cruises using LNG to in part power the line’s newest fleet of ships, the MSC World Europa and MSC Euribia.

LNG is a natural gas that has been reduced to a liquid state through a process of cooling. The UK’s National Grid says that LNG has been part of the country’s energy mix for many years, and claims that it is the cleanest of the fossil fuels as it produces 40 per cent less carbon dioxide than coal and 30 per cent less than oil.

However, Opportunity Green says LNG is “just another dirty fuel” that can be more harmful to the environment than other fuels and is often greenwashed in the shipping sector as climate beneficial.

Kirsty Mitchell, the legal manager at Opportunity Green states that a “strong body of evidence shows the detrimental impacts that fossil LNG has on our climate due to its high methane content, a potent greenhouse gas.”

“The reality is that the climate impacts of methane are over 80 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period – this is not a solution that is consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C temperature goal.”

“It’s high time the cruise industry is called out for its systemic misleading advertising of fossil LNG – a highly-damaging fossil fuel – as ‘green’.

“Cruise companies are keen to focus on the carbon emissions savings or air pollution benefits linked to the use of fossil LNG, but this only tells part of the story.”

The MSC World Europa, which debuted in 2022, was MSC Cruises’ first vessel to be powered by LNG, while in September 2023, the LNG-powered MSC Euribia completed the “world’s first net zero greenhouse gas emissions cruise ship voyage” by utilising bio-LNG as fuel.

Opportunity Green also took issue with the adverts describing MSC World Europa as using “clean, green technology”, so the NGO challenged whether the adverts were misleading.

MSC Cruises has agreed with the ASA to remove the advertising that was complained about.

An MSC Cruises spokesperson told The Independent: “As the relevant legal framework for marketing claims is evolving, we will continue to work collaboratively with advertising bodies and regulators to ensure that our communications are delivered in a compliant way.

“We continue to invest heavily in researching and implementing new technologies and innovative solutions for some of our ships, including bio and synthetic LNG fuels.

“We will continue to develop responsible and transparent communications around sustainability, which are informative to consumers, substantiated by evidence and fully compliant with relevant regulations.”

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