CRUISE company Royal Caribbean Group recently became the first major cruise line operator to sail a vessel from a US port while using renewable diesel fuel—a vital step in its Destination Net Zero decarbonisation strategy.

Following the sail of its Navigator of the Seas vessel at the end of last month, this key step in the group’s pursuit of alternative fuels comes less than a year after the unveiling of its chief sustainable strategy.

Destination Net Zero was first announced last year as a comprehensive strategy developed by the cruise company which aims to cut emissions, protect oceans and ensure the viability of destinations. The strategy builds on decades of progress and a deep sense of responsibility to embed sustainability throughout the organisation.

“We are committed to investing in technologies and innovations that will help us reduce emissions and fulfill our purpose to deliver great vacations responsibly,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, Royal Caribbean Group’s executive vice-president of shared services operations.

“As we celebrate this milestone, we continue to set our sights on other leading alternative solutions to meet our net zero goals,” she added.

In addition to testing the use of biofuel aboard the vessel, Royal Caribbean is set to debut the cruise industry’s first hybrid-powered ship in summer 2023, as part of Silversea Cruises newest class of ships, the Nova class. The group is also working to reduce emissions while at port by investing in shore power on its ships and collaborating with key cruise ports for its use.

For the trial, the group has partnered with World Fuel Services to supply the renewable fuel to its Navigator of the Seas.

“We are extremely proud to be a part of Royal Caribbean Group’s journey toward making the cruise industry more sustainable by leveraging our renewable fuel distribution capabilities and technical expertise to facilitate the use of renewable fuel in a marine application,” said Michael J Kasbar, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of World Fuel Services Corporation.

The renewable fuel being used by the vessel contains less carbon than traditional marine fuels. While this fuel is produced from renewable raw materials, the production process for this fuel makes it molecularly identical to traditional marine gas oil creating a “drop in” fuel that can be safely used with the ship’s existing engines.

The cruise company said it plans to continue using lower carbon fuel to meet part of the Los Angeles-based ship’s fuel needs as it evaluates the feasibility for long-term use, with ambitions to expand its usage to other ships across the fleet. This follows a similar trial by the group’s joint venture partner, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, which is exploring a different process for developing a sustainable biofuel.

Royal Caribbean, one of the leading cruise companies in the world, has global fleet of 64 ships travelling to approximately 1,000 destinations around the world. It is also the owner and operator of three award-winning cruise brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises, and it is also a 50 per cent owner of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.