Video: Royal Caribbean Showcases LNG on its Path to Net Zero Emissions
Royal Caribbean Group, the parent company for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silversea Cruises, is highlighting its environmental efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The company is pledging to net zero emissions by 2050, including what it calls its most ambitious goal of delivery of a net zero cruise ship by 2035.
As part of its efforts, which include new ship construction, energy efficiency programs, and the development of alternative fuels, the cruise company also provided a sneak peek at the construction of the LNG system for its first cruise ship to use the gas fuel for propulsion. Carnival Corporation pioneered the use of LNG-fuel on cruise ships, introducing the AIDAnova in 2018, and it is continuing to build LNG ships for its brands. MSC Cruises has also announced the construction of LNG-fueled cruise ships.
With five years of planning for its new class of cruise ships, Royal Caribbean International and Meyer Werft celebrated the beginning of construction with the traditional steel cutting ceremony in June 2021 at Meyer Turku in Finland. Details of the new cruise ship, which is due to enter service in the fall of 2023, are closely guarded at the moment, but the company is highlighting that it will be the first to use LNG. The only hint for the size of the vessel is its 5,600 passenger capacity. Named Icon of the Seas, it is due to be followed by two sister ships in 2025 and 2026.
“We made our commitment to making clean power at sea a reality – and soon the norm – when Icon Class was first announced in 2016, and we’re excited to see construction underway on what will truly be a ship unlike any other,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International.
In the sneak peek video, images appear of the assembly of the massive LNG tanks as well as the blocks that will make up the engine room section of the vessel. You get a sense of the intricacy of the LNG plant. Construction on the LNG tanks, each of which is reported to be 307 tons and 90 feet long, and the engine room blocks are proceeding at Meyer Neptune in eastern Germany, where the shipyard company builds all its engine room components. Once completed, the blocks will be transferred to Finland where the cruise ships will be assembled.
Royal Caribbean Group also announced its program entitled “Destination Net Zero,” designed to help the company achieve its pledge of net zero emissions by 2025. The company, which has a total fleet of 60 cruise ships, says that it will begin an 18-to-24-month program to develop goals and establish the milestones in its decarbonization efforts.
The elements of their approach include the target to introduce 13 new energy-efficient and alternative-fueled vessels in its fleet modernization. They will also continue to invest in energy efficiency programs, and develop alternative fuel and alternative power solutions. Royal Caribbean is also working with a wind farm in Kansas to offset each year up to 12 percent of its scope 1 and 2 emissions.