World's Largest Cruise Ship Sets Sail From Miami

Facts

• The world's largest cruise ship, the 365m-long Icon of the Seas, set sail from Miami for a maiden, seven-day voyage in the Caribbean on Saturday.¹
• The vessel — a Royal Caribbean cruise ship — is reportedly five times larger than the Titanic, and can accommodate up to 7.6K guests and a crew of approximately 2.4K.²
• It cost approximately $2B to construct. Built at a shipyard in Finland, the vessel comprises 20 decks, seven swimming pools, and over 40 restaurants, bars, and lounges.¹
• Royal Caribbean claims the ship runs on eco-friendly liquified natural gas, which reportedly cuts its carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter.³
• Furthermore, the cruise line operator asserts that every kilowatt used on 'the biggest, baddest ship on the planet' is energy-efficient.⁴
• The Icon of the Seas is 10% larger than the 6780-passenger Harmony of the Seas, which first set sail in 2016 and reportedly produces emissions equivalent to 5M cars.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²news.com.au, ³Guardian, ⁴Daily Mail and ⁵NZ Herald.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Bloomberg. The cruise industry claims that liquified natural gas (LNG) is a climate solution — it's not, and these industry claims are greenwashing. The LNG-powered ships can leak damaging amounts of methane — a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide — into the atmosphere during combustion. Ships must reject sources of methane production and switch to fuel cells, renewable hydrogen, or methanol to slow down global warming and mitigate cruise tourism's climate impact.
• Narrative B, as provided by New York Times. The Icon of the Seas is 24% more energy efficient than required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Its advanced water and waste management systems treat all wastewater onboard and convert all waste into energy. In addition, its producers are investing in technology to build zero-emission cruise ships and achieve carbon-neutral sailing, including transitioning to tri-fuel engines designed to accommodate methanol. While governments are failing to phase out fossil fuels and avert the worst effects of climate change, some are distracting with arguments against an industry that contributes billions of dollars to the global economy, improving the lives of countless employees.

Predictions