"100-Story Building on the Sea" Titanic 5 Times Larger, World's Largest Cruise Ship

Largest Existing LNG-Powered Cruise Ship
Concerns Over Methane Gas Leakage During Combustion Process

The world's largest cruise ship has embarked on its maiden voyage. However, concerns about air pollution continue to persist.

On the 28th (local time), the world's largest cruise ship, "Icon of the Seas," belonging to the Royal Caribbean Group, embarked on its maiden voyage from Miami, Florida, USA.
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

On the 28th (local time), the British BBC reported that the world's largest cruise ship, the 'Icon of the Seas,' has set sail on its first voyage. The Icon of the Seas, operated by the Royal Caribbean Group, is an LNG-powered vessel that departed from Miami, Florida, USA on the same day. Soccer legend Lionel Messi also participated in the ship's naming ceremony held on the 25th.

Built by Royal Caribbean with an investment of $2 billion (approximately 2.675 trillion KRW) at the Turku shipyard in Finland, the Icon of the Seas has a gross tonnage of 250,800 tons and a length of 365 meters, making it five times larger than the Titanic. In terms of buildings on land, it is equivalent to a 90 to 100-story building laid horizontally. It is also comparable in size to the world's largest existing aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (length approximately 351 m).

The ship has 20 decks and can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers. Onboard, there are six swimming pools and six water slides, as well as around 40 restaurants, bars, and lounges. The 165㎡ suites come equipped with a movie theater, karaoke room, and ping-pong table. The highest-end suite is priced at $75,000 (approximately 100 million KRW) per week.

Royal Caribbean stated that the Icon of the Seas is 24% more energy-efficient than the standards required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and plans to introduce carbon-neutral ships by 2035.

On the 28th (local time), the world's largest cruise ship, "Icon of the Seas," belonging to Royal Caribbean Group, embarked on its maiden voyage from Miami, Florida, USA. The photo shows the interior of Icon of the Seas. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

However, environmental groups criticize that "the trend of cruise ships and vessels getting larger is the wrong direction if we consider the environment." Although LNG is a cleaner fuel compared to traditional marine fuels like heavy fuel oil, there is concern that methane gas, a more harmful greenhouse gas, may leak during combustion. Brian Comer, director of the marine program at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), estimates that the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of LNG are more than 120% higher than those of marine diesel and stated, "This is going in the wrong direction." The ICCT also analyzed in a report released earlier this week that methane emissions from LNG-powered ships exceed current regulatory requirements.

Methane is one of the six greenhouse gases regulated by the Kyoto Protocol and is a powerful greenhouse gas that has trapped more than 80 times the heat in the atmosphere compared to carbon dioxide over the past 20 years.