World’s largest cruise company comes on board zero-carbon shipping centre

The world’s largest cruise company Carnival Corporation has joined the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, a nonprofit, independent R&D centre, on its journey to zero-emission ship operations.

Carnival Corporation, with nine global cruise line brands, is the first in the cruise sector to join the centre committed to facilitating and accelerating the decarbonisation of the global shipping industry.

In order to achieve its own decarbonisation goals and net carbon-neutral ship operations by 2050, the company is partnering with key organisations with the aim to help identify and scale new technologies not yet ready for the cruise industry.

Through this partnership, Carnival expects to collaborate with industry players and like-minded organisations across the energy and shipping sectors in addition to accessing learning, knowledge and R&D activities for identifying viable decarbonisation pathways.

“As part of our commitment to decarbonisation and carbon footprint reduction efforts, we are continuing to innovate to effect change, and joining the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is another important step as we continue our ongoing focus to establish a path to zero-emission cruising over time”, said Tom Strang, senior vice president of maritime affairs for Carnival Corporation.

These efforts are part of the company’s longer-term sustainability plan and vision that include goals and aspirations for 2030 and beyond, guided by six critical sustainability focus areas, including climate action; circular economy; sustainable tourism; good health and well-being; diversity, equity and inclusion; and biodiversity and conservation.

The company and its brands are also committed to reducing carbon emission intensity by 40% by 2030 and have long-term aspirations to achieve net carbon-neutral ship operations by 2050.

As part of its plan for carbon footprint reduction, Carnival Corporation is working to have a total of 11 liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled next-generation cruise ships joining through 2025.

Moreover, the company also pioneered the use of Advanced Air Quality Systems onboard its ships, with over 90% of its non-LNG ships now equipped with these systems.

Additionally, Carnival informed that over 45% of its fleet has been equipped with shore-power capabilities, enabling ships to use shoreside electric power where available while in port.

The cruise company is also actively involved in investing in and supporting the transition to alternative fuels and technologies, such as biofuels, large scale batteries and fuel cells.

Just recently, it committed to exploring the feasibility of the world’s first cruise-led ‘green corridor‘ together with the U.S. Port of Seattle, Alaskan City and Borough of Juneau, Canada’s Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, major cruise lines, as well as the Global Maritime Forum, Blue Sky Maritime Coalition and Washington Maritime Blue.

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