In 2020 the world’s greenest cruise ship will take to the seas on its maiden voyage, as announced during COP21 this week.
The Peace Boat Ecoship Project was launched to facilitate the construction of the world’s most environmentally sustainable cruise ship. Developed by over 30 engineers, scientists and thinkers from the fields of ship-building and cutting-edge technology, the Ecoship Project is the brainchild of Peace Boat, a japan-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), which has been running educational voyages for peace and sustainability since 1983.
Ship design plans have been finalised for the 55,000 tonne ship that includes 10 retractable solar-panelled sails, retractable wind generators and a future-ready hybrid engine. Not only is the ship expected to cut CO2 emissions and improve energy efficiency, but it is also expected to become the flagship for green technology shipping, serving as a model for cruise operators worldwide.
Once in operation, the ship will embody sustainability efforts, sailing for Peace Boat around the world on educational voyages and hosting exhibitions of green technology in up to 80 ports annually. In addition to its 5,000 person carrying capacity, the ship will act as a floating sustainability laboratory to contribute to research on the ocean, climate and green marine technology and contribute towards Peace Boat’s awareness-building.
Gavin Allwright, Secretary of the International Windship Association (IWSA) commented: “We are delighted to see wind propulsion being used on this innovative cruise ship design. The Ecoship will be a front runner in the design of lower impact cruise vessels and we will be working with the industry segment to help bring more wind propulsion solutions into the mix.”
