The Biggest Cruise Ship In The World To Begin Service

Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas is currently being built at a Finnish shipyard and is set to make its first trip in January of 2024.

After an industry decline brought on by the Covid crisis, which forced several luxury ships to go into dry dock, the opulent cruise ship Icon of the Seas for Royal Caribbean is now being built at the Turku shipyard on Finland's southwestern coast, with a projected debut voyage in January of 2024.

However, some people called the massive construction a "monstrosity," emphasizing its enormous impact on the environment, while others are in fascinated of the complex engineering that went into this floating vacation resort and are buying tickets in droves.

The massive vessel has more than 20 decks, colourful water-parks, and the capacity to hold over 10,000 passengers, making it seem more like a community than a ship. The new ship, whose construction began in 2021 and which began sea testing in June of that year, is easily distinguished by the enormous glass dome that covers a portion of its front segment.

The industry took a major hit from the worldwide outbreak, and its future sustainability was called into doubt. Consumer confidence in the cruise industry seemed to be rising. Yet, according to projections by the Cruise Lines International Association, passenger traffic would reach 31.5 million in 2023, more than it was before the outbreak began.

In Alexis Papathanassis's opinion, a professor of Cruise Management at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, mega-ships have "clear economic advantages," since they bring down the price per passenger. As a result, "cruise corporations are able to make more money," he said. According to Papathanassis, cruise businesses will face "a hard moment with financial austerity," and as a result, he anticipates a spike in ticket costs.

Some have argued that from a carbon footprint standpoint, a single huge ship is preferable than a fleet of smaller vessels. Still, not everyone agrees.

While new ships like the LNG-powered Icon of the Seas are making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, environmentalists remain sceptical. LNG has fewer emissions than conventional maritime fuels, so it's often seen as a stepping stone to more climate-neutral solutions. However, T&E has raised concerns about the possibility of methane leakage.

Methane, a common component of LNG, is a potent greenhouse gas with the potential to have a far harsher effect on the climate than carbon dioxide. When LNG is used as a maritime fuel, it contributes to the growth of the gas sector, which is problematic.

source: hindustantimes.com