It was with pomp and circumstance that the American cruise line Royal Caribbean launched the magnificent cruise ship Icon of the seas, reports The Guardian.
In total, the ship has 20 decks, seven pools and six water slides. The maiden voyage from Miami awaits on Saturday.
It holds more than 7,000 passengers and is 365 meters long. The upper deck also houses the now largest water park at sea, which includes a 17 meter long waterfall.
“Biggest and Brashest”
Jason Libery, CEO of Royal Caribbean, describes the cruise ship as the “biggest, brashest ship on the planet.” In social media, Icon of the seas has instead been nicknamed “human lasagna”.
“My son described it as human lasagna. Definitely my image of hell,” writes an X user.
But the ship has not only raised eyebrows on the internet. Royal Caribbean has made a big deal out of the fact that the ship runs on the “cleanest marine fuel”, something experts call greenwashing.
Emits 80 percent more greenhouse gas
The Icon of the seas ship runs on liquefied methane gas (LNG), which, compared to other marine fuels, reduces carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter. But a ship using LNG, on the other hand, emits methane gas, which traps 80 times more heat compared to carbon dioxide when it is in the atmosphere.
– The engine emits 70 to 80 percent more greenhouse gas per trip, compared to if you had used regular marine fuel, says Bryan Comer, head of the International Council for Environmentally Friendly Marine Transport to The Guardian.
Cruise ship emissions have previously been the subject of discussion. When environmental organizations investigated the carbon dioxide emissions from staying on a European cruise ship for a week, compared to flying and staying in a hotel, it was found that a week-long cruise emits up to eight times more carbon dioxide.