MSC Cruises to remove liquefied natural gas adverts following ‘greenwashing’ complaint to UK advertising watchdog

• Following a nine-month investigation by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority, MSC Cruises withdraws fossil LNG ads and commits to being clear with consumers in future environmental claims

• The resolution serves as a stark warning to the cruise industry of the legal risks of marketing fossil LNG as a ‘green’ fuel

18 December, 2024

Following a complaint by environmental NGO Opportunity Green in March 2024, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has reached “informal resolution” with MSC Cruises – one of the world’s biggest cruise companies – over environmental claims it made about liquified natural gas (fossil LNG).  

The complaint concerned MSC Cruises’ “For a greater beauty” global ad campaign, which launched at the beginning of 2024 across more than 30 countries, and encouraged consumers to cruise more consciously with respect for the ocean and the planet by reaching destinations “with a cleaner fuel”. The claimed “cleaner fuel” was fossil LNG, used in part to power MSC’s newest fleet of cruise ships, the MSC World Europa and the MSC Euribia. The adverts touted the MSC World Europa as using “clean, green technology”, as well as a video posted across MSC Cruises’ social media accounts. Opportunity Green challenged whether the ads were misleading.

MSC Cruises has agreed with the ASA to completely remove the adverts in the form complained of, and ensure that future ads will be clear and not make absolute environmental claims unless robust substantiation is held.

Kirsty Mitchell, Legal Manager at Opportunity Green says:

“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’. 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. 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 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 1.5°C temperature goal.”

This is not the first time that MSC Cruises has had its marketing tactics come under scrutiny. Earlier this year, the Dutch advertising regulator publicly ruled against MSC Cruises following a greenwashing complaint – also concerning its statements on fossil LNG – signalling increased legal scrutiny of the highly polluting cruise industry.

While MSC Cruises has agreed to remove the adverts Opportunity Green complained about, many other companies are continuing to advertise tickets for MSC cruises using the same claims in their marketing to consumers. Cruise1st.co.uk states that MSC cruise ships are “powered by LNG, [the] world’s cleanest marine fuel” and “uses new, green technologies”.  Cruise-circle.co.uk says, “As the first LNG-powered vessel in the MSC fleet, she’s designed to lead the future of eco-friendly cruising,” and Cruisedirect.co.uk says, “LNG powered – one of the world’s cleanest marine fuels, and featuring breakthrough green technologies”.

David Kay, Legal Director at Opportunity Green says:

“MSC Cruises taking down its misleading fossil LNG claims is a great result for consumers and the environment, but it shouldn’t have taken a nine-month long regulatory investigation for MSC to do the right thing – we wrote to them privately in June 2023 about the legal risks of misleading consumers about fossil LNG and they carried on regardless.

But while MSC may have taken down its claims, it is still raking in profit from its ad campaign through ticket companies that continue to use the misleading claims to attract customers. We’ll be contacting all of those companies over the coming days to make sure they take these ads down.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Informal resolution means that, because the company has taken down or corrected the advertisements and given appropriate assurances to the ASA, the complaint will not be assessed by the ASA Council for a formal ruling. Details of the complaint and findings of the investigation will not be made public, but MSC Cruises will be listed on the ASA’s website here as a company against which a complaint has been informally resolved.

• MSC Cruises is not the only cruise company that uses fossil LNG as a shipping fuel, nor is it the only one that advertises its supposed climate benefits. In 2023, Opportunity Green produced an in-depth report, (Un)Sustainable from Ship to Shore highlighting the systemic nature of the cruise industry’s apparently misleading advertising.

• Opportunity Green submitted this follow-up complaint due to the number of new marketing campaigns that continue to advertise fossil LNG as climate beneficial.

• Fossil LNG consists primarily of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which is over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Throughout the extraction, processing and transportation of fossil LNG, methane leaks into the atmosphere. Additionally, methane slips into the atmosphere during combustion.

• A strong body of evidence suggests that fossil LNG, compared to conventional fuels such as marine gas oil, causes an increase in greenhouse gas emissions when used in cruise ships. This is because the engines used in cruise ships are particularly leaky, leading to comparatively high methane slip. While fossil LNG in shipping brings benefits with respect to air quality impacts, its use has serious and adverse effects for the climate.