The Icon of the Seas replaces the Wonder of the Seas as the largest cruise ship in the world. (Image source: Meyerwerft)
In a constant search for superlatives and striving to push the boundaries of possibility, the cruise industry opened a new chapter by launching the world’s new largest cruise ship in January – a behemoth that can accommodate eight times as many guests than the smallest country has inhabitants.
While the breathtaking scale of this new engineering marvel may be impressive, it is not without controversy, particularly given the growing sensitivity to environmental issues.
Die Icon of the Seas
Before we address the important environmental issues, let’s first take a look at the new largest cruise ship in the world. The Icon of the Seas is 365 meters long and 67 meters wide. It offers space for 2,350 crew members and a maximum of 7,600 passengers (via Seetours).
Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, has status as of 2022 (via Statesman) only has a population of just under 1,000, i.e. around an eighth of the number of guests the luxury liner can hold.
The Icon of the Seas has a size of 250,800 GT. GT stands for gross tonnage and is nowadays a relevant unit for the size of ships. It replaces the previous gross register ton (BRT).
At 250,800 GT, the Icon of the Seas is a bit larger than the largest cruise ship in the world to date – the Wonder of the Seas (230,000 GT).
The most well-known and famous of all ocean liners is the Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912, less than two weeks after being commissioned. She had a gross tonnage of 46,328. The Icon of the Seas is therefore almost five and a half times larger than the Titanic.
The huge passenger ship sails under the flag of Royal Caribbean International, is said to have cost around two billion dollars (around 1.85 billion dollars) and is one of three ships in the new Icon class. According to the Meyer shipyard
The environmental question
Nevertheless, the question of environmental impact remains. Such large cruise ships consume the energy of a small town while they are in the harbor (via goClimate). At sea they consume correspondingly more, which is why they are generally viewed as particularly harmful to the environment.
Although this primarily applies to diesel-powered ships, it is questionable whether liquefied natural gas emits so much less CO2. According to that Environment Federal Office
In addition to environmental concerns, socio-economic problems are also on the agenda. Cruise ships take visitors to foreign coastal cities, but they leave comparatively little money with the locals. Hotels are completely eliminated and even restaurants and souvenir shops earn next to nothing because they are all available on board the ships.
In terms of dimensions, the construction project from the following article is even more gigantic than the largest cruise ship in the world:
Work has begun on the world’s largest structure, which could come straight from a science fiction film
What do you think of such large cruise ships? Do you think they are more problematic in terms of their impact on the environment or do you think the technical data of an ocean giant outweighs them? What do you think about cruises in general? Do you see them as a relic of a bygone era or do you think they still fit into 2024? Feel free to write it to us in the comments!
