World's largest cruise ship sets sail, bringing concerns about methane
emissions
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[January 27, 2024]
By Doyinsola Oladipo
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world's largest cruise ship is set for its
maiden voyage on Saturday, but environmental groups are concerned that
the liquefied natural gas-powered vessel - and other giant cruise liners
to follow - will leak harmful methane into the atmosphere.
Royal Caribbean International's Icon of the Seas sets sail from Miami
with capacity for 8,000 passengers across 20 decks, taking advantage of
the surging popularity of cruises.
The ship is built to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which burns
more cleanly than traditional marine fuel but poses greater risks for
methane emissions. Environmental groups say methane leakage from the
ship's engines is an unacceptable risk to the climate because of its
short-term harmful effects.
"It's a step in the wrong direction," said Bryan Comer, director of the
Marine Program at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT),
an environmental policy think tank.
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"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.
In terms of warming effects, methane is 80 times worse over 20 years
than carbon dioxide, making cutting those emissions key to holding down
global temperature warming.
Cruise ships like Icon of the Seas use low-pressure, dual-fuel engines
that leak methane into the atmosphere during the combustion process,
known as "methane slip," according to industry experts. There are two
other engines used on bulk carriers or container ships that emit less
methane but they are too tall to fit in a cruise ship.
Royal Caribbean says its new ship is 24% more efficient when it comes to
carbon emissions than required by global shipping regulator the
International Maritime Organization (IMO).
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LNG emits fewer greenhouse gases than very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO)
that powers most of the global shipping fleet, said Steve Esau,
chief operating officer of Sea-LNG, a industry advocacy
organization.
Cruise engines convert natural gas into power in a cylinder, where
it is "important to make sure that all the natural gas is converted
to energy," said Juha Kytölä, director of R&D and Engineering at
Wärtsilä, which developed the cruise ship's engines.
What is not converted can escape during the combustion process into
the atmosphere, he said, adding that Wärtsilä's natural gas engine
technology emits 90% less methane than it did 20 to 30 years ago.
Cruise ship engines have an estimated methane slip of 6.4% on
average, according to 2024 research funded by the ICCT and other
partners. The IMO assumes methane slip at 3.5%.
"Methane is coming under more scrutiny," said Anna Barford, Canada
shipping campaigner at Stand Earth, a nonprofit organization, noting
that the IMO last summer said its efforts to cut greenhouse gases
includes addressing methane emissions.
Of the 54 ships on order from January 2024 to December 2028, 63% are
expected to be powered by LNG, according to the Cruise Line
International Association. Currently, about 6% of the 300 cruise
ships sailing are fueled by LNG.
Newer cruise ships are being designed to run on traditional marine
gas oil, LNG or alternatives like bio-LNG that only account for a
fraction of U.S. fuel consumption.
Royal Caribbean will use different fuels as the market evolves, said
Nick Rose, the company's vice president of environmental, social,
and governance.
"LNG is one piece of our actual strategy," he said.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Mark Porter)
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