24% more energy efficient than required
The Beeb answers some of those questions.
The 365m-long (1,197 ft) Icon of the Seas has 20 decks, and can house a maximum of 7,600 passengers on board. It is owned by Royal Caribbean Group. The vessel is going on a seven-day island-hopping voyage in the tropics.
But environmentalists warn that the liquefied natural gas-powered ship will leak harmful methane into the air. “It’s a step in the wrong direction,” Bryan Comer, director of the Marine Programme at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. “We would estimate that using LNG as a marine fuel emits over 120% more life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than marine gas oil,” he said.
Yebbut all those people get to go island-hopping.
A powerful greenhouse gas, methane in the atmosphere traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over 20 years. Cutting these emissions is seen as crucial to slowing down global warming.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson is quoted by media outlets as saying that Icon of the Seas is 24% more energy efficient than required [by] the International Maritime Organization for modern ships. The company plans to introduce a net-zero ship by 2035.
That’s like saying our recreational torching of your house will take longer to burn it to the ground than a different and worse form of torching would take.
For a ship this big, I’d expect to see a fuel usage of 200 metric tonnes per day as a minimum. Constantly running generators, for propulsion and electricity needs, would take some serious usage. Wonder how much generating ‘reserve’ capacity the ship has, if maxed out with crew and passengers?
And when does the cruise ship market say “That’s big enough” and “We have enough”? One of these things arriving in a small harbour would feel like an invasion. My other concerns are safety (what if this one sinks or is ablaze, can they evacuate in time?) and security (potentially 9,950 people on board makes it a very tempting target). Despite all the modern navigation and safety aids, no ship is unsinkable. The wakes from these ships moving at speed can be incredible and are banned from approaching certain places unless at walking speed.
For most of the crew, the ship would be a floating hotel. For the bridge crew and engineers it is a mobile town.
There are two more of the same class being built. Will another company try upping the size record with their order? Instead of fastest, will tonnage/passenger capacity be the new Blue Riband? I am very glad not to be at sea any more. Bigger is not always better.
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