World News for Students of English

31-01-2024 07:00

The world’s largest cruise ship Icon of the Seas is embarking on its inaugural voyage, using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as its fuel source.

While LNG is cleaner than traditional marine fuel, environmental concerns arise regarding potential methane emissions. The ship, with a capacity for 8,000 passengers across 20 decks, symbolizes the growing popularity of cruises. However, experts warn that the use of LNG might result in harmful methane leakage during the combustion process, known as methane slip. The International Council on Clean Transportation estimates that LNG emits over 120% more greenhouse gas emissions than marine gas oil. Methane’s short-term harmful effects and its potency, being 80 times worse than carbon dioxide over 20 years, raise climate concerns.

Despite Royal Caribbean’s claim of exceeding emissions efficiency standards, the environmental impact of LNG-powered cruise ships prompts calls for further scrutiny and research.

Difficult words: inaugural (first), combustion (the process of burning something), potency (strength or power), scrutiny (careful examination).

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