LNG-powered Icon of the Seas completes propulsion start trial

Royal Caribbean International’s first LNG-powered cruise vessel, Icon of the Seas, has achieved another major milestone on the road towards the approaching sea trials as Icon’s propulsion start was completed on 8 May 2023.

In addition, progress has been made both inside and outside of the vessel: the unwrapping of Aquadome has begun, and the ship has received some fresh paint on the hull.

Commenting on the achievement in a social media update, Meyer Turku shipyard said that ensuring the operational condition of the propellers is an important stage on the way to the vessel’s scheduled June sea trial; the propulsion start indicates the readiness of the ship’s power generation system, power distribution system and electric propulsion system.

The shipyard said: “The success of the propulsion start is proof of the seamless cooperation between the different teams, and once again speaks of the functionality of the equipment supplier’s multi-year cooperation and commitment to the project. After a successful propulsion start, we are eagerly awaiting the approaching sea trials in June!”

To note, the Icon of the Seas’ electric propulsion power is more than 60 megawatts (MW), and a single Azipod propeller system has a power of 20 MW.

The Icon’s construction started in June 2021 and an LNG fuel tank was installed in November 2021. The vessel was launched in December 2022.

The vessel runs on LNG and utilises fuel cell technology. It is expected that it will be handed over to the customer at the end of 2023 and will set sail on its first voyage in January 2024. The vessel is expected to cruise from Miami year-round in the Eastern and Western Caribbean.