TUI Cruises has become the first cruise company to address cruise ship CO2 emissions with behaviour change service provider, Signol.
This initiative, which will initially run for six months, combines data analysis with behaviour science to help TUI Cruises’ ‘Mein Schiff’ cruise vessels crews to save fuel while performing their daily operational duties.
Harnessing the power of crew behaviour is the next step in TUI Cruises’ de-carbonisation efforts, which already include using shore power, low emission fuels, exhaust gas cleaning systems and alternative propulsion systems for newbuildings wherever possible to reduce their engine emissions.
TUI Cruises’ Head of Sustainability, Lucienne Damm, said: “Reducing carbon emissions is one of TUI Cruises’ main priorities in relation to our Sustainability Strategy 2030.
“As a young cruise line company, we’ve always ensured that our vessels use the latest and most efficient environmental technologies, but we know that the crew also play a vital role in ensuring that we minimise the environmental impact of our voyages.
“Signol enables us to address fuel efficiency at an even deeper level, by actively engaging crew members on how they can make the most of their opportunities to save fuel and reduce emissions,” she said.
Signol worked closely with TUI Cruises to identify four operational processes where Masters and Chief Engineers have the most potential to reduce fuel consumption, for example, by ensuring on-time departure to minimise avoidable engine running time.
These fuel-saving opportunities – also known as Signol’s ‘behaviours’ – were defined and calculated using detailed insights on cruise ship specific operations, enhancing Signol’s existing analysis of fuel-saving opportunities in other shipping contexts and enabling Signol to provide a sophisticated service tailored for the cruise industry.
TUI Cruises’ crew members will be encouraged to increase their fuel-saving behaviour in these areas through a set of behaviour change techniques, delivered directly via Signol’s web app and email communications.
These science-based techniques, include personalised fuel-saving goals based on crew members’ previous behaviour, and charitable donations made by TUI Cruises for every fuel-saving milestone achieved.
TUI Cruises has opted to support the United Nations awarded Greek social enterprise Enaleia through this donation scheme. Enaleia conducts the collection of marine plastic daily, which gets integrated in the circular economy via recycling and conversion into new products, such as kayaks.
Signol representatives attended TUI Cruises’ Senior Officer Conference in 2024 to hear directly from Masters and Chief Engineers on how Signol could best support their fuel-saving efforts.
This workshop encouraged them to share their personal insights and best practices related to fuel-saving opportunities on board, which fed into Signol’s analysis and definition of fuel-saving behaviours to improve.
Harriet Hunnisett Johnson, Signol’s Head of Maritime, said: “We’re thrilled to be launching Signol’s behaviour change service in the cruise industry for the first time with TUI Cruises.
“As a human-centric de-carbonisation solution, Signol is always looking to ensure that crew members are engaged and prioritised in fuel efficiency and de-carbonisation initiatives.
“By working closely with TUI Cruises’ captains, we’ve developed a sophisticated approach to fuel-saving on board cruise ships, which is tailored to their experiences and tasks each day,” she said.
Signol’s work with TUI Cruises makes use of data available through digital logbooks and performance monitoring tools on TUI’s cruise ships, which has enabled the company to model the fuel-saving opportunities and activities on board with greater complexity and accuracy than before.
This was achieved through Signol’s ability to pull together data sources from any data provider and use data from a variety of systems on board.
