Carnival zeroes in on energy and fuel savings with fleetwide upgrades

Outlook & Strategy

August 5, 2022, by Ajsa Habibic

Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company, is launching comprehensive technology upgrades across its global fleet to further improve energy savings and reduce fuel consumption.

The upgrades called Service Power Packages include ongoing installations through 2023 on ships from the company’s nine cruise line brands.

The program is said to deliver an average of 5-10% fuel savings per ship and is expected to reduce fleetwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 500,000 metric tons each year.

In addition to the environmental benefits, the program upon completion is expected to generate over $150 million in annual fuel cost savings, the company estimates.

Developed over the past six years, the company’s Service Power program includes the following elements designed to work together to reduce each ship’s overall service load – the energy required to support all onboard hotel systems – and as a result, significantly reduce both fuel usage and emissions:

Comprehensive upgrades to each ship’s hotel HVAC systems,
Technical systems upgrades on each ship,
State-of-the-art LED lighting systems, and
Remote monitoring and maintenance improvements.

According to Bill Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation, the upgrades closely align with the company’s long-term sustainability and decarbonisation goals.

“Based on our improved fleet composition, including adding six industry-leading 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“, Burke said.

It is estimated that the ongoing efforts for fleetwide enhancement will drive a 10% reduction in fuel consumption per available lower berth day (ALBD) in the company’s first full year of guest cruise operations compared to 2019, along with a 9% reduction in carbon emissions per lower berth distance traveled.

As part of its longer-term sustainability plan and vision, Carnival Corporation has committed to significant investments to achieve its 2030 sustainability goals and 2050 aspirations, which incorporate six critical sustainability focus areas overall.

Among these priorities, the company has committed to reducing carbon emission intensity by 20% from its 2019 baseline by 2030, supporting its efforts and aspirations to achieve net carbon-neutral ship operations by 2050.