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Royal Caribbean Charts Incremental Progress on Cruise Ship Impacts

<p>Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, the world's second largest cruise operator, has cut fuel consumption by about 4 percent with better designed ships, smarter sailing practices and energy efficiency measures that include installing solar window film in every ship in the fleet.<br /> &nbsp;</p>

Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, the world's second largest cruise operator, has cut fuel consumption by about 4 percent with better designed ships, smarter sailing practices and energy efficiency measures that include installing solar window film in every ship in the fleet.

Royal Caribbean Ltd. released its 2009 Stewardship Report on Monday. The firm's second report primarily covers the environmental, safety, security, medical and public health efforts of three company brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.

RCL also owns and operates CDF Croisières de France and Pullmantur Cruises, and has a 50 percent investment in TUI Cruises, a joint venture with TUI AG of Germany.

Fuel chartIn 2009, almost 4 million passengers traveled aboard RCL's 38 ships to 400 destinations. According to its report, the firm used 3.7 percent less fuel per available passenger cruise day (APCD) to do so than in 2008 -- beating a year-over-year reduction goal of 2 percent and consuming about 30,000 metric tons less in fuel than planned. The reduction is roughly equivalent to taking 13,000 mid-sized sedans off the road for a year, the cruise ship company said.

Since 2007, the company has reduced fuel consumption by 7 percent per APCD. An APCD is the number of lower berths on a ship times the number of days that those berths are available to passengers per year. A 2,000-berth ship that is in dry-dock for five days out of the year, has an APCD of 720,000 -- i.e. 2,000 x 360.

The firm has an immediate goal of reducing fuel consumption per APCD by at least 2.5 percent each year and plans to set higher targets as new technologies develop.

"In our daily operations, we face two primary energy challenges: How to efficiently utilize clean, secure and affordable energy, and how to minimize our impact on the environment related to our air emissions and greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint," RCL Chairman and CEO Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain said in the report.

Aboard a ship, fuel is used not only to propel the vessel, which accounts for about 60 percent of consumption, it also goes toward HVAC (about 11 percent), hotel and lodging related purposes (about 16 percent) and auxiliary engines (about 13 percent), RCL said.

Although fuel consumption decreased for a second straight year, greenhouse gas emissions rose slightly between 2008 and 2009.

GHG emissions went from 3,817,911 metric tons in 2008, which is equivalent to 0.14470 metric tons of CO2e per APCD, to 4,108,556 metric tons in 2009, which is equivalent to 0.14652 metric tons of CO2e. The differences represent a 7.6 percent increase in absolute terms and a 1.3 percent increase when calculated for APCD.

The figures are higher for 2009, RCL said, "because we have included indirect emissions from electrical consumption and refrigerant releases from the Pullmantur fleet that we did not actively track prior to 2009. All ships in our fleet are now included in our GHG calculations."

RCL has a goal of reducing its GHG footprint by one-third per APCD by 2015, compared to 2008 levels.

In other areas, RCL cut down on energy consumption by:

  • Replacing older fresh water manufacturing systems on all ships with newer, higher-efficiency systems that provide the same amount of water for about 35 percent of the electricity consumption.
  • Replacing halogen and incandescent bulbs with LEDs and CFLs
  • Installing solar film on all windows in all ships to reduce heat and thereby lessen the need for air conditioning.

RecyclablesRCL, which reports that it does not discharge solid waste or chemicals into the ocean, cited progress in increasing recycling and reducing waste:

  • Last year, the RCL recycled and reused more than 14 million pounds of materials, which is about 2 million pounds or 21 percent more compared to 2008. (See chart, right.)
  • The company also reduced the amount of waste landed ashore to 1.4 pounds per APCD in 2009, down 9 percent compared to 2008. (See chart, below.)

RCL also said that it is forging ahead plans install high-tech clean wastewater systems throughout its fleet. "We are investing more than $150 million in Advanced Wastewater Purification systems and are determined to complete a fleet-wide installation," the company's report said. "These technologically advanced systems clean wastewater to a quality that far exceeds international maritime and U.S. standards. Our Advanced Wastewater Purification system installations are designed to treat wastewater to a level twice as clean as the already stringent U.S. standard."

Solid WasteTwenty-two RCL ships are equipped with an AWP system -- 17 ships have systems that are fully installed and operational, systems for two more are to be completed this year and systems on the remaining three ships are first generation equipment and are expected to be updated. This year AWP systems are to be installed in another four ships, bringing the total of ships with the equipment to 26.

RCL began its Save the Waves stewardship program in 1992 and in 1997 obtained International Organization for Standardization certification for quality management systems (ISO 9001) and environmental management systems (ISO 14001). For more than a decade, RCL has placed an environmental officer aboard each ship. At sea the EOs report directly to the master of their ship and are ultimately accountable to the company's vice president of environmental stewardship.

Last year, the company and various of its brands and ships received 12 honors from the Port of San Francisco and industry groups  in recognition of  environmentally practices ranging from helping to maintain clean seas, recycling, responsible tourism, healthful dining and general green performance. RCL also is active in industry efforts to improve the environmental footprint of cruise operations.

Despite such work, the industry often is a target for environmental advocates, who contend that cruise operators must work harder to decrease their businesses' impacts on the planet.

In spring, Friends of the Earth released its annual scorecard for cruiselines that ply North American waters. Though it recognized Royal Caribbean International for making improvements, the organization nevertheless gave the brand and its corporate sister, Celebrity Cruises, a D+.

Images courtesy of Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited.

 

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