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Royal Caribbean to add scrubbers to most of its cruise ships to reduce environmental impact

In:
22 Dec 2014

Royal Caribbean announced today that it will retrofit 13 of its cruise ships with advanced emissions purification (AEP) systems beginning in January 2015 to reduce the fleet's environmental impact as well as meet or exceed important environmental standards.

These new scrubbers will remove more than 97% of the sulfur dioxide emissions generated by the ships' diesel engines. 

Royal Caribbean will now be ahead of all forthcoming International Maritime Organization Emission Control Area emissions standards, and will ensure compliance with existing European Union standards.  Additionally, the decision to install AEP systems instead of switching to a fuel with a lower sulfur content will ensure that RCL's ships can be compliant everywhere they sail, as availability of lower-sulfur fuels is limited.

The installation of these scrubbers will take place during scheduled dry-dockings and while ships are in service. While preliminary work has begun on several of the ships receiving AEP systems, most will take place between 2015 and 2017. Each installation will take approximately eight months.

This is not Royal Caribbean's first time utilizing scrubbing technology, as the company has invested in AEP technology since 2010. Quantum of the Seas was among the first cruise ships to be built with AEP systems installed during initial construction. Liberty of the Seas has been operating one of its six engines with a retrofitted AEP system for two years. AEP systems "scrub" exhaust gases by injecting high volumes of water spray into the exhaust stream, removing more than 97% of sulfur dioxide emissions.

"AEP technology for maritime vessels is very new, and we expect that by utilizing multiple technological solutions to accommodate the differences among our ships, additional development will ultimately help industrialize AEP technology even more, which will benefit not only RCL but also the larger maritime industry," said Adam Goldstein, President and COO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

To ensure the right systems are available for each ship's unique requirements, RCL contracted two different AEP technology suppliers, Swedish company Alfa Laval and Finnish company Wartsila. Additional companies are being hired to execute the installations.

Royal Caribbean helps launch alliance to protect south Pacific natural resources

In:
04 Sep 2014

Royal Caribbean is teaming up with an alliance of other organizations to create the South Pacific Destination Alliance (SPDA) that is aimed at protecting the South Pacific's natural and cultural assets while enhancing livelihoods and ensuring its tourism destinations are nice places to live, work, and visit.

The SPDA announcement was made this past weekend at the 3rd International United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Apia, Samoa.

Royal Caribbean is joining the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO), and global non-profit implementation partner Sustainable Travel International in creating the SPDA.

The SPDA is modeled after the Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas, a groundbreaking alliance of public and private entities launched earlier this year to focus on destination sustainability in the Caribbean and adjacent Latin American countries.

The group's next step is to work to include more than 10 destinations between now and 2017.

Celebrity cruise ship joins two Royal Caribbean ships to monitor oceanographic and atmospheric conditions

In:
13 May 2014

Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Equinox joined Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas in a program that tracks ocean circulation dynamics and measures atmospheric and oceanographic conditions, on repeated journeys.

Royal Caribbean does its part to help conduct scientific research by  the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. The scientists capture and analyze oceanographic and atmospheric data on  the vessels sailing worldwide. 

The scientists record ocean temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll concentration, as well as properties of the ocean’s surface, such as reflectance and absorbance. In addition, they measure meteorological properties, such as wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure and humidity. These data help scientists monitor, understand, and forecast climate change and its effects on marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs. Coral reefs protect coastlines from storms and help sustain the livelihoods of local people, especially in developing countries, where coral reefs contribute about one-quarter of the annual total fish catch, providing food to about one billion people in Asia alone. 

“Royal Caribbean is extremely proud of the collaboration with the OceanScope program to foster greater understanding of the global climate system and the oceans on which our ships sail,” said Rich Pruitt, Vice President, Safety and Environmental Stewardship, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “Our business depends on ocean health, and part of protecting ocean health is understanding the atmosphere and its effects.” 

Funded in part by RCL’s Ocean Fund, The University of Miami’s OceanScope equipment on Explorer of the Seas has tracked ocean circulation dynamics since 2000, in the North Atlantic basin that the ship sails through while on Bermuda and Caribbean routes from the US Northeast. The Allure of the Seas lab tracks these conditions through the Eastern and Western Caribbean, and has done so since 2012. The installation of an OceanScope lab on Celebrity Equinox will provide insight into the ocean dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea, across the North Atlantic and along the Iberian Peninsula. 

Royal Caribbean helps transport giant squid to museum

In:
23 Oct 2013

There was one giant guest aboard a recent Royal Caribbean cruise that probably stuck out from all the other guests considering it was 6.5 feet long and tentacles.

Two rare giant species of squid are on their way to the Smithsonian Institution’s preserved cephalopod research collection in Washington DC.  The effort is a joint collaboration between Royal Caribbean, Department of Environment and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

The squid, which are about two metres long, are described by local scientists as being in excellent condition and will provide important scientific data as these two deep sea cephalopod species are rarely encountered as adults.

Dr Janice Blumenthal was happy with the assistance Royal Caribbean provided to allow for the specimens to be studied further, "It was a pleasure to work with all the Royal Caribbean staff to arrange this unique transfer. They were extremely efficient in arranging the complex logistics of transporting the rare squid aboard their ship and importing them into the United States – though this was of course the first time any of us had attempted this."

Royal Caribbean preparing its cruise ships for new air pollution laws

In:
22 Jul 2013

Royal Caribbean has been working hard, along with the rest of the cruise industry, to prepare its cruise ships for new air pollution rules set to go into effect in 2015.  The fear is these new laws will make North American cruises more expensive and so Royal Caribbean has been slowly rolling out a solution to its cruise ships that will aim to be compliant without being too expensive.

The new rules are part of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA), which surrounds the United States and Canada and extends up to 200 miles offshore.

Royal Caribbean's plan is to add "scrubbers" to their ships.  Scrubbers remove pollutants from engine exhaust as a kind of filter.  The downside to scrubbers is the technology is still a work in progress and requires a variance permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Royal Caribbean is planning on installing scrubbers on Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas when they are built.  They've already been testing scrubbers on Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas and the EPA has granted trial exemptions for six Royal Caribbean ships.   In addition, it has authorized an “emissions averaging” solution in certain subregions of the ECA in which Royal can use fuels with differing sulfur levels, as long as the average equivalent sulfur emissions meet the ECA limits.

Royal Caribbean discusses new cruise ship emission regulation challenges

In:
08 Mar 2013

Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President of Safety and Environmental Stewardship, Richard Pruitt, talked to a group of reporters during a tour of Explorer of the Seas about the challenges the cruise line is facing in powering their ships in light of new maritime industry emissions regulations.

Explorer of the Seas is powered by  6 V12 diesel engines that are connected to 6 12.6 MW electrical generators. The ship was taking on 1,300 tons of fuel during the tour. The Explorer holds two types of marine fuel because US and international law dictate that low sulfur fuel oil must be burned within 200 nautical miles of member-country shorelines, a boundary known as the Emissions Control Area established by the International Maritime Organization.

New air pollution regulations took effect last August have had a direct impact on cruise ships, and Royal Caribbean "had problems getting compliant fuel in the Pacific Northwest," Pruitt said. Dealing with the emissions issue is currently his greatest challenge, he added.

Compounding the problem is that space aboard a cruise ship is at a premium and the need to carry multiple types of fuel means multiple tanks must compete for precious space.

Pruitt thinks the solution could lie in scrubbers, much like those used by utilities operating coal-fired power plants. He said two ships experimenting with them now "show great promise."

But the regulations are scheduled to tighten even more from less than 1% sulfur fuel now to below 0.1%, which could double fuel costs inside the ECA, according to Pruitt. Scrubbers will likely be required to some extent, he said, because the sulfur content of fuel can only be reduced so much. In order to comply with regulations, some contaminants may need to be scrubbed out after the fuel is burned.
 

Royal Caribbeans private island CocoCay awarded Gold-level Eco-Certification

In:
01 Feb 2013

Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, CocoCay, was awarded the Sustainable Tourism Education Program (STEP) Gold-Level Eco-Certification for its attractions and tour operations.

The award was presented by Sustainable Travel International, a leading nonprofit that support sustainable tourism development.  The certification is the top-tier program and  is among the first global standards to be formally recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), and CocoCay is the first operation of its kind to receive the certification.

All on-island tours and island operations, including workplace practices, guest communications, and environmental management policies were assessed by a third-party independent of Sustainable Travel International and Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean demonstrated an ability to successfully apply its outstanding on-board sustainability initiatives to its shore excursion operations.

Royal Caribbean met certain criteria to receive the award, among them were these distinctions

  • Royal Caribbean performed extremely well on all policy and documentation criteria.
  • The CocoCay team performed “above and beyond” in areas of guest communications, guest education, group-size policy and visitor code of conduct.
  • All on-island vendors sell locally sourced and produced products from the Bahamas, such as artwork and locally-made crafts.

Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President for Safety and Environmental Stewardship, Rich Pruitt, commented on the award, "We are very proud of our CocoCay team and the incredible work they do every day. It is through their dedication to sustainability initiatives that CocoCay has been awarded this prestigious certification that further emphasizes our commitment to environmental stewardship. By working with organizations such as Sustainable Travel International, Royal Caribbean continues to focus on providing an incredible vacation experience both onboard its ships and its private destinations like CocoCay.”

Royal Caribbean cruise ship saves injured pelican

In:
27 Dec 2012

An injured pelican that landed on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas is being treated at BluePearl Veterinary Partners specialty and emergency hospital in Tampa on Thursday.

The pelican injured itself when it flew into the Jewel of the Seas' superstructure and subsequently landed on the ship.  The bird was originally from Holland Island, Maryland and was  tagged by the U.S. Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory back on September 7th.

Doctors from BluePearl Veterinary Partners avian and exotics medicine team are treating the bird for dehydration and after a physical examination determined the bird has a minor wing injury that will require rehabilitation.

According to Royal Caribbean, the pelican landed on deck 12 of the port-side of Jewel of the Seas shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The ship was returning to its seasonal homeport of Tampa after calling at Cozumel, Mexico, on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean International staff transferred the injured bird to Hillsborough County Animal Services during a port call in Tampa, Thursday at approximately 10 a.m.

The pelican is scheduled to be transferred to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Friday where the bird will receive rehabilitation treatment.

Bahamas approves Royal Caribbeans new emissions plan

In:
23 Sep 2012

The Bahamas Maritime Authority approved a new plan by Royal Caribbean to use an alternate way of calculating its compliance with new air pollution rules.

Royal Caribbean had asked to start a fleet-wide sulfur averaging and banking plan to comply with new restrictions on sulfur emissions that took effect on August 1. Those rules limit the sulfur content of marine fuel to 1%, to curb emissions of sulfur dioxide. 

Low-sulfur fuel is more expensive than heavy fuel oil, which can potentially raise the price of a cruise by $15 to $18 per day.

The new pollution calculations allow some Royal Caribbean ships exceed sulfur emission rules if other Royal Caribbean ships can run a surplus under the standard, or a single ship to balance the use of high and low sulfur fuel so that when averaged it meets the new requirement. 

It also provides credits for using shore power, exhaust scrubbers and liquid natural gas.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian regulators have signed off on the plan, which has also been submitted to Malta, where other Royal Carubbean ships are flagged.

Royal Caribbean will be able to use the method for five years and can reapply after that.  

Royal Caribbean supports for St. Kitts and Nevis joining Global Sustainable Tourism Council

In:
28 Jul 2012

Royal Caribbean is supporting the recent decision by St. Kitts and Nevis to be a part of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's network, a leader in environmental sustainability among the cruise industry.

Royal Caribbean, a GTSC patron, is helping sponsor implementation of the new Criteria for Destinations in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Royal Caribbean Vice President for Environmental Stewardship and Global Chief Environmental Officer, Jamie Sweeting,  commented on why the cruise giant is helping sponsor the island, "We feel a responsibility in working with destinations to try to increase the positive and minimize the negative impacts of our visitations."

A cruise company can hold its ships to a high standard of environmental sustainability (Royal Caribbean’s vessels have advanced wastewater purification systems, for instance, and the company is installing exhaust gas scrubbers on some of its smokestacks).

When the final GSTC Criteria for Destinations are in place, they will provide another standard by which Royal Caribbean can judge ports of call.

St. Kitts and Nevis is a good place to start. Many of Royal Caribbean’s voyages to the Southern Caribbean stop at Basseterre, the country’s capital, where guests are able to ride the “sugar train,” visit an original plantation house, trek through lush jungle, or ride a catamaran over to Nevis for a beach barbecue. 

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