Over 5,600 passengers, 365 meters long, 40 restaurants… “Icon of the Seas”, world’s largest liner, sails from Miami

The liner is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a fossil fuel that the industry touts as a cleaner alternative to heavy fuel oil, but which releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

hymn to more, Anti-environmental monstrosity…the world’s new largest cruise ship, TheA sign of the sea Built in Finland on behalf of the Royal Caribbean Company, departed the port of Miami (Florida) on Saturday 27 January for her maiden voyage to the Caribbean.

Registered in the Bahamas, it is the American cruise giant’s first ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a fossil fuel that the industry touts as a cleaner alternative to heavy fuel oil, but which releases methane, a potent gas. greenhouse effect. Royal Caribbean says the ship is equipped with a system that converts waste to energy and another to recycle water on board. In this way the company promises to reduce the environmental impact of this type of ship, one of the most common criticisms of the cruise industry. For example, the NGO Transport and Environment estimates that Carnival, the world leader in the sector, alone emits ten times more sulfur dioxide. Around European shores than all 260 million cars registered on the continent.

With its 365 meters long, 20 decks, 2,805 cabins and 40 restaurants, this giant liner is a hymn to excess, the latest addition to a cruise sector in full recovery after years of health crisis. l’A sign of the sea Accommodates 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew members. Divided into eight different districts, it includes seven swimming pools, nine Jacuzzis and a 17-meter high waterfall. With a gross tonnage of 250,800 tonnes, five times the size of the Titanic, it was christened on Tuesday by the city’s football club star Lionel Messi.

During her first trip to the Caribbean, she will visit Basseterre, capital of the state of St. Kitts and Nevis, before heading to Charlotte-Amelie in the US Virgin Islands, then to the private island of Coco Cay in the Bahamas. Return to Miami.