SINGAPORE, 14 June 2023: Strengthening a decades-long commitment to ocean conservation and environmental research efforts, Royal Caribbean Group, has announced a four-year extension of its investment in OceanScope.

The open-source data programme provides scientists with critical information to study climate and ocean conservation.

Collaborating with key program partners, including the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the programme’s renewal on World Oceans Day builds on over 20 years of groundbreaking ocean and marine life research from Royal Caribbean Group ships.  

OceanScope leverages a comprehensive suite of oceanographic and meteorological instruments located onboard Royal Caribbean Group ships that generates a continuous, simultaneous collection of the ocean’s vital signs, such as the structure of currents, sea surface temperature, carbon dioxide concentrations, and salinity taken along the repetitive ship routes – which allows scientists to monitor changes on scales of seasons, years, and even decades. 

“At Royal Caribbean Group, every day is World Oceans Day – and we are thrilled to renew a program as impactful to oceanic research as OceanScope,” said  Royal Caribbean Group CEO and president Jason Liberty.

“We’re dedicated to sustaining our planet and delivering the best vacations, responsibly – and our decades-long support of this unique initiative is a testament to that. We can’t wait to see how OceanScope, and our scientific collaborators progress our understanding  of ocean health and conservation.”  

OceanScope’s open-source database is available to the international scientific research community worldwide. The resulting data products and peer-reviewed research are key to informing ocean and conservation policy.  

Launched in 2002, the programme helped verify for the first time that ocean acidification – a reduction in pH over an extended period caused primarily by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere was occurring in the Caribbean Sea but at varying rates. Ocean acidification is detrimental to calcifying organisms such as oysters, clams, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea corals, and calcareous plankton, and an ongoing concern for the entire food web. 

Extending OceanScope on Royal Caribbean Group ships helps ensure ongoing monitoring and changes of key ocean and atmospheric processes in critical ecosystems. 

As of 2023, data has been collected from over 100,000 nautical miles sailed from four ships, travelling across the Caribbean Sea, Galapagos, North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Flora and Celebrity Equinox provide data to scientists at NOAA, the University of Miami Rosenstiel School, and the worldwide science community.

Royal Caribbean Group intends to share the programme’s learning to its more than 8 million guests annually to increase ocean literacy. 

As of 2023, data has been collected from over 100,000 nautical miles sailed from four ships, travelling across the Caribbean Sea, Galapagos, North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Flora and Celebrity Equinox provide data to scientists at NOAA, the University of Miami Rosenstiel School, and the community. Royal Caribbean Group intends to share the program’s learning to its more than eight million guests annually to increase ocean literacy. 

Royal Caribbean Group’s conservation work extends beyond OceanScope, with the company championing a broader commitment to sustaining the planet as part of its SEA the Future platform. Royal Caribbean Group is actively working to decarbonise its business through innovation, collaborative partnerships and a transition to cleaner fuels, smarter technologies, and improved energy efficiencies. Ultimately, the company’s efforts are driving toward –Destination Net Zero – a commitment to reach net zero by 2050 and to deliver a net-zero emissions cruise ship by 2035.   To learn more about Royal Caribbean Group’s efforts to sustain our planet, energise communities and accelerate innovation, visit http://www.royalcaribbeangroup.com/SEAtheFuture.