33 Photo: Oceania Cruises The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry welcomed the seventh Oceania Cruises vessel, Oceania Vista, into the fleet. Built at a cost of $656 million, Vista is 67,000gt, 791 feet (241 metres) long, and can hold up to 1,200 passengers and 800 crew. “The ship represents a growing number of new and innovative passenger vessels whose companies have chosen to flag with the RMI thanks to the registry’s comprehensive support and coordination from design to delivery,” said a spokesperson for the registry. Vista is currently sailing a sold-out inaugural summer season in the Mediterranean. In September 2023 it will sail to Canada and New England, USA, before repositioning to PortMiami for winter 2023-2024. RMI Registry welcomes Oceania Cruises’ Oceania Vista GerrisBoats develops new energy-efficient hull platform Italian start-up GerrisBoats has created and patented a modular hull platform that can help passenger ferries, water taxis and yachts reduce fuel consumption and the noise and waves they generate while operating. According to creators Massimo Verme and Roberto Rossi, GerrisBoats’ hull platform “proposes a paradigm shift in nautical design and construction” and will enable vessels to operate more sustainably, while also increasing passenger comfort. This would make it suitable for building passenger ferries delivering public transport services, or smaller water taxis that would offer point-to-point transport via an Uber-like system. GerrisBoats worked with Italian shipyard Azimut Benetti, the University of Genoa and other partners during the research and development phase. It also presented the sustainability, technical and accessibility benefits of the solution to the Ligurian and Navigazione Laghi Administrations and others during a roundtable on smart water mobility near Genoa, Italy, in July 2023. SUSTAINABILITY MILESTONES Three major cruise operators significantly reduced their impact on the environment, according to their latest sustainability reports. Carnival Corporation cut both single-use plastic items and absolute particulate matter air emissions (relative to a 2015 baseline) in 2021, according to its 2022 Sustainability Report. It also hopes to achieve a 20 per cent carbon intensity reduction (relative to its 2019 baseline measurement) by 2030. According to MSC Cruises’ latest sustainability report, it has decreased the carbon intensity of its ship operations by 33.5 per cent since 2008. This puts it on track to reach a 40 per cent reduction ahead of its 2030 target. In 2022, Royal Caribbean International reduced the solid waste offloaded to landfill by 90 per cent from its 2007 baseline. The organisation is set to cut 100 per cent of its onboard single-use plastics and reduce carbon intensity by double digits (from 2019 baseline) by 2025.
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