TUI Cruises bets on bio-LNG as Mediterranean fleet grows
TUI Cruises is running two ships entirely on bio-LNG, cutting thousands of tons of CO2. The move puts cleaner propulsion on Mediterranean routes and raises the bar for ports.
TUI Cruises has put two of its newest vessels on renewable LNG for the summer season, a commercial bet on biomethane that is already delivering measurable carbon savings. The Mein Schiff Relax and Mein Schiff Flow are running entirely on bio-LNG during their European itineraries.
The fuel, made from biomethane, cuts greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil LNG. TUI said it had saved around 26,000 tons of CO2 by July 2026 and expects that figure to reach 50,000 tons by the end of the year.
"Thanks to the use of bio-LNG alone, we were already able to save around 26,000 tons of CO2 by July 2026 and are expected to reach around 50,000 tons by the end of the year," the company stated.
The deployment has direct Mediterranean relevance. The Mein Schiff Flow, which debuted earlier this year, is spending its maiden season in the western Mediterranean on cruises to Spain, Italy, France, Morocco and Portugal, while the Mein Schiff Relax operates from Germany to the Baltic and Scandinavia.
That puts bio-LNG powered tonnage on routes close to Malta's key competitive markets for cruise calls. As more operators adopt alternative fuels, ports will need bunkering capacity and shore-side infrastructure to match.
TUI says it is not stopping at bio-LNG. The company launched what it called the industry's first methanol-ready cruise ship in 2024 with the Mein Schiff 7, and it is working with Fincantieri on two additional LNG-powered vessels scheduled to debut in 2031 and 2032.
The Mein Schiff Relax and Mein Schiff Flow were also built by Fincantieri. Each carries 4,000 passengers and displaces 161,000 tons, making them the largest ships in the TUI fleet.
Beyond fuel, TUI has retrofitted shorepower connections on the Mein Schiff 1, Mein Schiff 2 and Mein Schiff 5, cut plastic use onboard, adopted sustainable textiles and assigned environmental officers to keep operations green. Shore excursions have also been shifted toward eco-friendly tours.
For Maltese maritime businesses, the direction of travel is clear. Cruise operators are pricing environmental performance into fleet planning, and the Mediterranean is where some of that new tonnage is being tested.