ALBAWABA - Do you like to travel? Most people prefer to travel using the air or the ground, but if you were to consider travelling via the sea, you should keep an eye out for this tour on the world's largest ship.
Fittingly named the "Icon of the Seas", the largest ship in the world is scheduled to sail for the first time in January 2024, after its construction is nearing completion at the Finnish Turku Shipyard. It has been under construction since April 2022.
The ship was made by the shipping company, Royal Caribbean, and it looks like a small town, with seven swimming pools, one park, shops and an ice rink.
The total tonnage of the “Icon of the Seas” is around 250,800 tons, five times the size of the famous Titanic ship, and it is expected to carry nearly ten thousand people, and it will soon cruise the Caribbean Sea from Miami.
"This ship is by far, according to our information, the largest cruise ship in the world," said Tim Meyer, CEO of the Meyer Turku shipbuilder.
(Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)
The huge ship raised criticism by some people because of what its carbon footprint will be, while others stand amazed at the advanced engineering of this floating tourist attraction, and then there are those who didn't waste any time and had already booked their tickets to travel on it.
“Over the past decade, we have noticed that cruise ships have become larger, with larger ships having clear economic benefits,” said Alexis Papathanasis, professor of cruise management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bremerhaven, Germany. That is because of an economies stand point, the cost advantages companies get are overall better.
And while modern cruise ships are taking measures to reduce emissions through technology, and the "Icon of the Seas" being no different as it said it'll run on liquefied natural gas, some environmental activists are not convinced.
Constance Dijkstra, a specialist in maritime transport, said that the emissions of this gas are lower than those of conventional marine fuel, but "it has serious consequences for the climate due to the leakage of methane" resulting from it.
And she finished by saying, "The problem is that by using LNG as a marine fuel, we are encouraging the growth of the gas industry."
