I like the ocean a lot & have been a passenger on about 35 ocean cruises. When I refer to “bluer” ocean cruising in this post, I mean cleaner/better for the ocean & kinder to marine life. Let’s look at some progress on cleaner energy for powering the ships.
There will be multiple sustainable power options needed, e.g. for: “different parts of the world, different types of ships;” & different lengths of cruises. Cruise lines have been investing in liquified natural gas/LNG (a cleaner-burning “transitional” fuel compared to traditional marine heavy fuel oil. LNG is “cleaner but not clean” is a comment seen). As of Sept. ’23 there were 21 LNG-powered cruise ships counted. Other options being explored include hydrogen power, batteries & biofuels.
Each cruise ship’s life cycle tends to be 20-30 years. Zero carbon by 2050?; we may need to make most big ship power decisions this decade to achieve that. Several cruise lines earned an “A” for transparency on Friends of the Earth’s 2022 Cruise Line Report Card for being willing when queried “to provide detailed information about their environmental practices”. Transparency is considered a good sign.
A. Less pricey; mainstream cruise lines; with large ships:
MSC Cruises. They announced some big progress toward sustainability goals last year. With their new ship MSC Euribia’s first commercial sailing in June 2023 & “the first net-zero greenhouse gas emissions voyage in history, saving 43 tons of fuel.” The ship can utilize/utilized bio-LNG fuel “sourced entirely from agricultural & municipal waste residues”.
Efforts of other lower cost mainstream cruise lines include:
NCLH (parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises & Oceania Cruises): “… invests in research into new fuels.”
Carnival Corporation (is parent company of AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line & P&O Cruises, which all) already have a ship/ships powered by LNG.
RCL Group: (includes Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises & Silversea Cruises) announced its strategy called Destination Net Zero aiming for net-zero emissions, partly by developing alternative fuels.
B. Medium Pricey:
With smaller ships. Star Clippers: This sailing company has 3 smaller, tall sailing ships that operate on wind power alone “up to 80% of the time, (& utilize ‘low-sulfur gas oil’ otherwise)”.
With medium size ships. Virgin Voyages. Their newer ships (they started sailing in 2021) apparently benefit from modern technology. E.g. Virgin Voyages is one of “dozens of cruise companies that have [added] BPI technology to their HVAC systems” for more energy efficiency by essentially “recycling & treating the air indoors & saving energy.” Their website notes: “Fuel efficient… State-of-the-art technologies optimize fuel & energy usage throughout the ship”.
C. High End and/or Pricey:
With smaller ships. Ponant. This French cruise line recently announced plans for a ship it said “will sail emissions-free…using wind & solar power & fuel cells.” Their Le Commandant Charcot expedition ship already “runs on a combination of battery power & LNG”. This cruise line “is working toward six major environmental goals”.
With smaller ships. Hurtigruten. Cruise line has proposed a “zero-emission ship, currently scheduled to set sail in 2030″ (& which “will be very quiet”]. Proposed to be powered by: “a combination of batteries & retractable sails with solar panels”.
With smaller ships. Aurora Expeditions; a Certified B Corporation. Cruise line is said to be 100% climate neutral. Per their website: “Aurora Expeditions ships boast the lowest polluting marine engines in the world, due to a combination of low energy consumption, high fuel-efficiency & a streamlined design. The state-of-the-art Tier 3 engine delivers an 80% reduction in emissions”. With “…voyages to the Arctic, Antarctica & other less-traveled destinations”.
D. Relatively Unknown to Me:
With smaller ships; perhaps medium pricey. Havila Voyages. started in late 2021; operates 4 small ships along the Norwegian coast. Their “hybrid vessels are equipped with the largest ship battery packs found among passenger ships, which power each ship for up to 4 hours with zero emissions” (ships use LNG fuel for remainder of the route).