The first “zero particle” vessel presented in Marseille

After the electrification of its mixed cargo ships when they are at the quay, the La Méridionale company has just taken a new step to improve air quality. The shipowner now has an anti-pollution boat in its fleet. The “Piana” would now be the most virtuous mixed freighter in the Mediterranean. Flagship of the Marseille-based company, this merchant ship will make connections between Marseille and Corsica without emitting black smoke.

A feat made possible thanks to an innovative filter that must be able to capture 99% of fine particle emissions and sulfur oxides. All the liner’s engines are now equipped with this technology which neutralizes part of the polluting emissions. A process already used in the majority of industrial incineration plants for 30 years. This anti-pollution system operates in three phases. “You have the exhaust pipes in which sodium bicarbonate is injected. By chemical reaction, the acid particles contained in the gases will be neutralized and then filtered. Solid waste is then recovered on land in powder form by incinerators. explains Christophe Seguinot, technical director of the Marseille-based shipowner.

This process required three years of research before it was installed. An unprecedented solution in the maritime world hailed by the town hall of Marseille, a city where 39% of nitrogen oxide emissions are due to maritime activities and more particularly to cruise ships. “La Méridionale shows us that when we want we can, that means that all boats, whatever their size, can do it” remarks the mayor (PS) of Marseille Benoît Payan. The creation and installation of this revolutionary filter required an investment of more than 15 million euros, more than half of which was financed by the Paca region. Necessary investments which must be generalized, according to environmental associations, in a sector weighed down by a disastrous carbon footprint.