Royal Caribbean ship sails from LA powered by renewable diesel fuel

Los Angeles-based Navigator of the Seas will use renewable fuel to reduce its carbon emissions.

'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 EVP 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.'

Produced from renewable raw materials

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

Royal Caribbean plans to continue using lower carbon fuel to meet part of Navigator of the Seas' needs as it evaluates the feasibility for long-term use, with ambitions to expand to other ships across the fleet.

Follows Hapag-Lloyd Cruises trial

This follows a similar trial by Royal Caribbean Group's joint venture partner, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, which is exploring a different process for developing a sustainable biofuel.

For the Navigator of the Seas trial, Royal Caribbean Group partnered with World Fuel Services to supply the renewable fuel. The Jankovich Co. will deliver the fuel on behalf of World Fuel Services to the ship at the Port of Los Angeles.

Navigator cruises to destinations in Mexico.

'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 CEO, World Fuel Services Corp.

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