Cruising To Accelerated Climate Change: Greenwash Ahoy!

A week-long holiday on a relatively modest European cruise ship, can already be up to 8 times more carbon intensive, than a traditional vacation (simply taking a flight to a foreign destination and staying at a hotel). Mega cruisers are going to massively further increase their passenger's carbon footprints. Royal Caribbean have just launched 'The Icon of the Seas'. This, merely the first of a number of similar vessels, is a monster. It has 20 decks and is capable of accommodating 7000 passengers and crew. Royal Caribbean is also now in full 'greenwash' mode. The company claims their ship's fuel of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is the cleanest burning. Perhaps they hope to convince their well-heeled customers, they can have a clear conscience about their holiday choice (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/26/icon-of-the-seas-largest-cruise-ship-human-lasagne-climate-fuel-lng-greenwashing). Mega cruise ships are floating pollution platforms. LNG does produce 25% less carbon dioxide than conventional diesel fuel. Using it, however, results in a phenomenon called 'methane slip'. Some of the methane fuel escapes, unburned into the atmosphere. Although it survives there for a shorter time, methane is a 'greenhouse gas', with 80 times the potency of carbon dioxide. Newly constructed cruising vessels should use fuel cells and renewable hydrogen as power sources! Otherwise, they are just another opportunity for the population's top 5%, to exceed their share of 'greenhouse gas' emissions. Change it or tell it as it is!