Royal Caribbean International today announced that its ship Adventure of the Seas has been selected for the company’s sixth annual Environmentally Innovative Ship Of The Year Award. The annual award is designed to encourage Royal Caribbean International’s longstanding commitment to environmental innovation and improvement. Competition for the award assists the company in progressively advancing its environmental performance in ways that go above and beyond regulatory compliance. Judging for the 2004 awards was conducted by the independent external auditing firm CoVeris, which audits all Royal Caribbean ships for adherence to the company’s Environmental Compliance Plan.
Adventure of the Seas’ crew was cited for its achievements in resource conservation and environmental stewardship. The crew’s innovations included the creation of an improved process to clean boiler exhaust systems. The new process uses high-pressure air and a vacuum to remove soot, resulting in less waste to be disposed.
The ship’s crew also developed a system that allowed them to significantly reduce the amounts of two chemicals most commonly used onboard, a soapy cleaner and a rust remover. By diluting the two chemicals a significantly lower volume of them is used. Any unused diluted solution is collected at the end of each day for reuse the following day.
Additionally, the ship’s crew was credited for its ongoing efforts to create and restore wetlands in St. Maarten and for their participation in the creation of an education program related to the wetlands. These efforts not only preserve St. Maarten’s vulnerable ecosystems, but educate people of the island’s ecological diversity.
Each year, all Royal Caribbean ships are requested to submit information regarding shipboard environmental program initiatives. The following categories are considered in determining which ship has undertaken the best environmental innovation:
* Reduction of environmental impacts (air emissions, water discharges, waste management, marine conservation, etc.), which may be onboard the ship or at ports of call.
* Reduction of waste generated (waste minimization programs, recycling, etc.).
* Reduction of resource use (fuel conservation, water conservation, reduction of paper use, purchasing products made from recycled materials, etc.).
* Substitution of hazardous/toxic products for less hazardous/toxic products.
* Improvement in environmental equipment operation (additional equipment installed, re-design of equipment to increase performance, etc.).
* Communication of innovation within Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise vacation company with 19 ships in service and two more under construction. The company also offers unique cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Canada and Europe.
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