Evac incinerator retrofit reduces waste and emissions on Icon of the Seas

The operating context: scale outpaces waste processing capacity

When Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas entered service in early 2024, it introduced a new scale of cruising. The ship can carry up to 7,600 guests and some 2,350 crew, with services and accommodation distributed across 20 decks. It sails week-long itineraries out of Miami, departing and returning on a regular seven-day cycle throughout the year.

As the ship settled into this weekly operation, it quickly became apparent that the volume of waste generated on each voyage exceeded the capacity of the onboard processing system. The ship had been fitted with a single incinerator to manage its burnable waste stream.

With the incinerator unable to keep pace, large quantities of cardboard, plastics and USDA-regulated food waste quickly accumulated and had to be offloaded in Miami. The ship was landing an average of 222 pallets of waste per week – sometimes close to 400 pallets – resulting in significant weekly offload spend.

Landing this volume of waste also increased onshore emissions. Evac’s modelling shows that road transport emissions accumulate rapidly, reaching parity with onboard incineration after approximately 1,800 km of diesel truck travel. This makes landside handling a material contributor to a vessel’s environmental footprint.

Faced with these costs and the emissions impact, Royal Caribbean made the decision to install a second incinerator on board. The challenge was to find a solution that could be integrated within the vessel’s existing technical spaces and installed without taking the ship out of service. This required exceptional engineering and project-management expertise.

Royal Caribbean again turned to Evac, a long-standing supplier of incineration systems to the cruise-line operator.

“Incinerators from Evac are used on at least 20 vessels in the Royal Caribbean fleet. The equipment has supported our operations on Oasis- and Quantum-class ships for many years. To perform the complex retrofit on Icon of the Seas, we went with what we knew.”

Simon Hamilton, Senior Project Manager – Royal Caribbean

The challenge: solving space, routing and installation constraints

Delivering a full marine incinerator retrofit on a cruise ship that remained in continuous operation had not been done before. Engineering, installation and commissioning had to be carefully sequenced and executed without disrupting the vessel’s sailing schedule.

Finding space for the new three-deck system – comprising a shredder, a waste silo and an incineration chamber – required meticulous planning within the ship’s internal layout. Routing the 800 mm exhaust pipe up to Deck 19 added further complexity, as it had to pass through finished areas already used by guests.

Adding to the challenge, the incinerator could not be lifted onboard in pre-assembled sections. Internal doorways were simply too small. The system would need to be broken down into precisely dimensioned components and assembled entirely onboard.

All planning and execution had to align with the ship’s weekly turnaround in Miami, while installation would be carried out during voyages.

The solution: sequenced delivery and modular installation

Evac engineered the incinerator specifically for onboard assembly. Rather than lifting complete components onboard, the system was delivered in 127 pallets. Each was precisely sized to pass through the ship’s internal spaces.

Components were manufactured in Hungary and shipped in sequenced batches between May and August 2025, with installation progressing from June to September. Deliveries of the pallets were planned for weekly Miami turnarounds, so work could continue once the vessel had set sail again. Coordination between Evac, Royal Caribbean and installation contractor LTH-Baas was maintained through regular project meetings.

“The coordination between Evac, our team and LTH-Baas was brilliant. Everything was planned in batches and sequenced perfectly.The Evac team reacted extremely fast to the issues we ran into, with no impact on the overall schedule. They  fixed the refractory issue within a week and handled the fan incident without any bureaucracy.”

Simon Hamilton, Senior Project Manager – Royal Caribbean

The outcome: transformed waste-handling performance and a new industry precedent

Before the incinerator retrofit, Icon of the Seas was landing an average of 222 pallets of burnable waste per week, with peaks of up to 400 pallets. After commissioning Evac’s system, that figure has dropped to around 60 pallets. The reduction has eliminated large-scale onboard waste accumulation and significantly reduced offload volumes.

In addition to the operational benefits, the new incinerator has reduced the emissions associated with shore-side waste transport and downstream processing. While incineration represents only a small share of a vessel’s overall emissions profile, managing regulated waste at source avoids the cumulative emissions from bringing large volumes ashore.

The project marks the first in-service installation of a full marine incinerator on a ship of this size. It demonstrates that large-scale waste-processing upgrades can be delivered without dry-dock time, opening new possibilities for fleet-wide retrofits.

“Aside from the operational benefits, the retrofit reduces emissions by limiting the need to land and handle large volumes of regulated, non-recyclable waste ashore.

This project shows that major retrofits no longer need to be tied to dry-dock schedules. With support from Evac, vessel operators can approach upgrades without disrupting commercial operations.”

Kjell Erik Reinstad, Director Strategic Accounts, Cruise – Evac Group