Energy solutions company, World Fuel Services is supplying renewable diesel fuel to US-based cruise company Royal Caribbean Group to power its Navigator of the Seas ship sailing to Mexico from the Port of Los Angeles.
The low-carbon diesel fuel will partially meet the fuel needs of the ship, enabling the cruise line to reduce the carbon emissions of its voyage, all in line with the Group’s Destination Net Zero decarbonization strategy.
The fuel is produced from renewable raw materials and contains less carbon than traditional marine fuels. The renewable fuel’s production process makes it molecularly identical to traditional marine gas oil — creating a "drop in" fuel that can be safely used with the ship's existing engines.
The renewable fuel will be delivered by marine products supplier, The Jankovich Company, on behalf of World Fuel Services.
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The trial project will enable Royal Caribbean Group to evaluate the feasibility of using low-carbon bunkering fuel and expand its usage to other ships, as it continues its pursuit of alternative fuels to reduce carbon emissions from its operations.
"We are committed to investing in technologies and innovations that will help us reduce emissions and fulfil our purpose to deliver great vacations responsibly," said Laura Hodges Bethge, Royal Caribbean Group's Executive Vice President, Shared Services Operations. "As we celebrate this milestone, we continue to set our sights on other leading alternative solutions to meet our net zero goals."
Apart from this, the Group is also set to debut the cruise industry's first hybrid-powered ship in summer 2023 and is also working on reducing emissions from ships docked at port by investing in shore power on its ships and collaborating with key cruise ports for its use. Its partnership with PortMiami in 2021 is an example of its efforts in this direction.
The company is also launching a zero-energy cruise terminal in the Port of Galveston, Texas, that builds on its sustainable design framework and will be a LEED-Gold certified facility.
