A symbol of gigantism, a hymn to excess, and for many an anti-ecological monstrosity. The new largest cruise ship in the world, theIcon of the Seas of Royal Caribbean, cast off from the port of Miami (Florida) in the United States, Saturday January 27, for its maiden voyage to the Caribbean.
With its 365 meters long, 20 decks, 2,805 cabins and 40 restaurants, this immense liner is the latest addition to a cruise sector in full recovery after the Covid years. L’Icon of the Seasregistered in the Bahamas, 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 to greenhouse effect.
The ship is equipped with a system that converts waste into energy and another to recycle water on board, says Royal Caribbean, thus promising to reduce the environmental impact of this type of ship, one of the most common criticisms of the cruise industry.
Another icon, Lionel Messi, to name the boat
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.
The 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 (i.e. its transport capacity) of 250,800 tonnes, five times that of the Titanic – and almost 100 meters longer – it left the Turku shipyard in Finland.
The Miami-based company welcomed Lionel Messi, another icon and star of the city’s soccer club, to the ship’s christening on Tuesday to press a button that caused a bottle of champagne to crash onto the hull. Sign of the race to gigantism, theIcon of the Seas replaces another ship of the same company, the Wonder of Seasas the largest cruise ship in the world.
