New Royal Caribbean Ships Will Convert Waste to Energy Onboard

Royal Caribbean’s newest ships will introduce what’s being described as the “next generation” of waste management at sea thanks to systems designed to turn waste directly into energy onboard.

Slated to debut this year on two ships—Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas and Silversea Cruises’ Silver Nova— the new approach to waste management will be a cruise industry first.

"I am proud of Royal Caribbean Group's drive to SEA the Future and be better tomorrow than we are today," Jason Liberty, the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said in a statement. "Pioneering the first waste to energy system on a cruise ship builds on our commitment to remove waste from local landfills and deliver great vacation experiences, responsibly."

A waste conversion system known as Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) will be used on Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas (Photo Credit: Courtesy Royal Caribbean)

Converting Solid Waste to Energy Onboard

The systems that will be used on the two ships to convert waste are known as Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) and Micro Auto Gasification (MAG), respectively.

Each one is designed to take waste on board and convert it into synthesis gas (syngas) that the ship can directly use as energy, Royal Caribbean explained in a statement.

“Much like land-based waste-to-energy facilities, the result is repurposing waste in an efficient and sustainable way,” the cruise line said. “An additional bioproduct of the system, biochar, can also be used as a soil nutrient."

As Liberty mentioned in his comments, the effort is part of the cruise line’s SEA the Future program, which encompasses the company’s ongoing efforts to help sustain the planet, energize communities, and accelerate innovation in the cruise industry.

Silver Nova will be the first of a new class of ships for Silversea. Rendering courtesy of Silversea Cruises. (Photo Credit: Silversea)

Food Waste Reduction Efforts


Royal Caribbean said today that it is reviewing waste management from start to finish. That includes plans to reduce food waste across the fleet by 50 percent by 2025. To reach that goal, the company will aim to roll-out a variety of initiatives including:

• Developing a proprietary platform to monitor food supply and accurately estimate how much food should be produced, prepped and ordered on a given day.
• Using artificial intelligence (AI) to adjust food production in real time.
• Introducing a dedicated onboard food waste role to monitor and train crew members.
• Tracking guest demand for specific menu items and adjusting menu preparation and ordering accordingly.
• Introducing a food waste awareness campaign in the crew dining areas fleet wide.
  
  

The cruise line’s data shows that to date it has achieved a 24 percent reduction in food waste by focusing on the front end of the food system, which prevents and addresses many of the main causes of food waste, including inventory management and over-preparing.

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