By
Alice Chambers |
Carnival Corporation is to carry out comprehensive technology upgrades across its entire fleet of ships to improve energy savings and reduce fuel consumption.
The Service Power Package upgrades are part of the company’s efforts to boost energy efficiency and will be rolled out throughout 2023 onboard ships in Carnival’s nine cruise line brands, including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
The Service Power packages will be tailored for each individual ship, taking into consideration the vessel’s design, size and the current onboard equipment. Each ship will undergo improvements to its heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, which currently account for 25 per cent of its total energy consumption. The HVAC systems will use ultraviolet-C treatment for air filtration too.
In addition, Carnival Corporation will enhance each ship’s technical systems by installing variable speed drives, on-demand automated control systems for engine room ventilation, main air conditioners and cooling pumps to reduce the amount of energy needed to cool the vessel. Other updates will include LED lighting systems, which will reduce both power consumption and heat-load generation. Meanwhile, improved instrumentation and automated management systems will enable nonstop ship-to-shore connectivity will enable Carnival Corporation to remotely monitor and analyse each vessel’s energy performance and technical status to ensure they always operate at peak efficiency. This will also minimise equipment downtime.
By introducing the Service Power upgrades, Carnival Corporation expects to achieve an average of 5-10 per cent fuel savings per ship, which will reduce the company’s total greenhouse gas emissions by more than 500,000 metric tons per year. It will also save Carnival Corporation $150 million in fuel annually.
“The Service Power programme closely aligns with our long-term sustainability and decarbonisation goals and our highest responsibility and top priority, which is compliance, environmental protection and the health, safety and well-being of our guests, the people in the communities we visit, and our shipboard and shoreside personnel,” said Bill Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation. “Based on our improved fleet composition, including adding six LNG-powered ships, and our previous investments to increase efficiency and reduce emissions, our absolute carbon emissions peaked in 2011 despite significant capacity growth over the past decade. These tailored Service Power Packages further build on those efforts as part of our comprehensive approach to sustainability.”
The initiative is part of Carnival Corporation’s strategy to reach its 2030 and 2050 sustainability goals, which focus on climate action, circular economy, sustainable tourism, good health and well-being, diversity, equity and inclusion, and biodiversity and conservation.