Fire breaks out on world’s largest cruise ship
Crew aboard the world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, had to address a fire this week while the behemoth was docked in a Mexican port.
The news comes just months after the record-breaking liner set sail in January.
The “small fire” was quickly extinguished after igniting on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean told media. The ship’s operator reported no injuries and described the overall impact on board as “minimal.” It is not yet clear what caused the fire.
Icon of the Seas, which is 365 metres long and weighs 250,800 gross tons, was docked in Costa Maya, Mexico, at the time of the incident. Although the vessel briefly lost power, the cruise line reports that its backup power system was activated immediately.
The cruise line tells CNN Travel that, during the incident, on-board announcements informed passengers about the situation.
Social media posts in an Icon of the Seas Facebook group mentioned minor disruptions to their day, but things quickly returned to normal.
Royal Caribbean’s $2bn (£1.6bn) behemoth, which earned the nickname the ‘human lasagne’ on social media, has seven pools, nine whirlpools and six waterslides.
Icon of the Seas has 2,350 crew members to look after the 5,610 guests over the 18 decks they’re allowed on (it has 20 decks in total).
The vessel is continuing its current itinerary without being impacted by the fire and headed towards the Mexican island of Cozumel.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson tells CNN Travel that minor fires on cruise ships are “not common, but also not uncommon,” and are typically handled promptly with minimal disruption to passengers.
Icon of the Seas LNG controversy
In news unrelated to the fire, environmental groups have questioned Royal Caribbean’s claims about the impact of liquified natural gas (LNG), which powers the vessel. The firm describes it as the ‘cleanest-burning marine fuel’.
Yet environmentalists are warning that LNG will leak harmful methane into the air. Although LNG does burn more cleanly than traditional marine fuels such as fuel oil, there is a risk that some gas escapes, causing excess methane to leak into the atmosphere.
Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, trapping up to 80 times more heat in a period of 20 years. This means, depending how much fuel escapes, the overall greenhouse gas emissions of the ship could end up being higher than if it was powered using traditional fuel.
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