More than 5,600 passengers, 365 meters long, 40 restaurants… “Icon of the Seas”, the largest liner in the world, set sail from Miami

The liner is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a fossil fuel that the industry presents as a cleaner alternative to heavy fuel oil, but which releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Hymn to excess, anti-ecological monstrosity…The new largest cruise ship in the world, theIcon of the Seas built in Finland on behalf of the Royal Caribbean company, cast off from the port of Miami (Florida) on Saturday January 27 for its maiden voyage to the Caribbean.

Registered in the Bahamas, it is the first ship of the American cruise giant to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a fossil fuel that the industry presents as a cleaner alternative to heavy fuel oil, but which releases methane, a powerful gas Greenhouse effect. The ship is equipped with a system that converts waste into energy and another to recycle water on board, Royal Caribbean says. The company thus promises to reduce the environmental impact of this type of ship, one of the most common criticisms of the cruise industry. For example, the NGO Transport and Environment estimates that the world leader in the sector, Carnival, alone emits ten times more sulfur dioxide. around European coasts than all 260 million cars recorded on the continent.

With its 365 meters long, 20 decks, 2,805 cabins and 40 restaurants, this immense liner is a hymn to excess, the latest addition to a cruise sector in full recovery after the years of health crisis. L’Icon of the Seas can accommodate 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew members. Divided into eight different districts, it includes seven swimming pools, nine jacuzzis and a 17-meter-high waterfall. With a gross tonnage of 250,800 tonnes, five times the size of the Titanic, it was christened on Tuesday by Lionel Messi, the star of the city’s football club.

During its maiden voyage to the Caribbean, it will visit Basseterre, capital of the State of Saint Kitts and Nevis, before heading to Charlotte-Amélie, in the American Virgin Islands, then to the island private of Coco Cay, in the Bahamas, before returning to Miami.