With the only large cruise ships in the world powered by LNG, Carnival Corporation is demonstrating its leading edge decarbonization efforts, according to CEO Arnold Donald, speaking on the company’s Monday business update call.

“Now in addition to our cutting-edge LNG efforts, we have many other ongoing efforts to accelerate decarbonization,” Donald said.

“To name just a few, they include itinerary optimization and technology upgrades to our existing fleet at an investment of over $350 million in areas such as air conditioning, waste management, lighting and of course the list goes on.

“We are actively increasing our shore power capabilities. Greater than 45 percent of our fleet is already equipped to connect to shore power and we plan to reach at least 60 percent by 2030.”

The company is also helping bring shore power to ports, Donald said, leading to the development of 21 ports to date and counting.

“We are focused on expanding shore power to our high volume ports around the world,” Donald noted. “That includes Miami, South Hampton, England and Hamburg, Germany. To ultimately achieve net zero emissions over time, we are investing in research and development, partnering on projects to evaluate and pilot, maritime scale battery and fuel cell technology, and working with classification societies and engine manufacturers to assess hydrogen, methanol as well as bio and synthetic fuels as future low-carbon fuel options for cruise ships.

“Also, these efforts, combined with the exit of 19 less efficient ships, are forecasted to deliver upon returning to full operations, a 10 percent reduction in unit fuel consumption on an annualized basis. Now that’s a significant achievement on our path to decarbonization.”