Why conservationist Monty Halls has teamed up with this cruise giant
Royal Caribbean Group supported the television broadcaster and marine biologist to undertake a sailing adventure with his family this summer, throwing a spotlight on conservation heroes. We learn more about the partnership and how it feeds into the cruise company’s sustainability agenda.
A tie-up between a marine biologist and a cruise line might seem unlikely but there is a tide of positivity flowing through a new collaboration between BBC broadcaster and conservationist Monty Halls and Royal Caribbean Group (RCG).
The partnership sparked when Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) vice-president of Emea, Ben Bouldin, heard Halls speak at the Clia conference in June this year. The conservationist spoke of a new project that would see himself and his family board their 35ft yacht and sail around the UK’s south-west coastline over the summer.
Known as Generation Sea Change, Halls sums up the project as celebrating community heroes and coastal communities who have come up with environmental initiatives, schemes, and technologies and groups that are addressing marine conservation on their own doorsteps.
Looking at his own daughters, Isla, 11 and Molly, 9, Halls says he realised a need for more positive messaging around marine conservation, coming not from scientists in white coats, but ordinary people.
“Currently it’s always negative. All problems and no solutions,” he quips.
Bouldin saw an instant synergy with RCG’s own sustainability aims.
“Monty recharges your batteries. He reminds you how much good you can do in the world. At Clia he touched on this project, Generation Sea Change, and I thought, ‘why would we not want to get involved with that’. Protecting our oceans and working with our communities is at the heart of what we do. I realised Monty could be a great voice for us at group level.”
Halls recalls the moment Bouldin walked up, shook his hand and said “we need to talk”. From that moment he was astounded by RCG’s “engagement and intent to explore the project”. He adds that RCG’s support has been “invaluable”.
“It’s allowed us to explore a template and proof of concept going forward,” he asserts. “We would have been low on assets, filming on iPhones, but RCG provided assets for us to do it properly.”
New findings
With the extra support from RCG, Halls was able to make some exciting discoveries. Among them a group deploying listening devices to locate local dolphin populations and a community-run rat eradication project on the Scilly Isles that led to birds finally returning to nest there – the most successful of its kind ever.
“We want to go out and tell those stories, record them, so people can replicate them around the world,” Halls says.
And Bouldin believes Halls has the ability to make people listen.
“It’s one thing to find a marine biologist but the way Monty uses his family in the filming makes it easy for other families to connect to. He is a great storyteller.”
A series showcasing the Halls family’s adventure is being released on YouTube and amplified via social media.
Longer term, Halls’ vision for phase two, known as “leaderbox blue”, sees him creating a “conservation project in a box”. He hopes that RCG will get behind this too.
“Hopefully RCG vessels will ultimately carry these onboard and when they dock in a port they can give them to a school or community so they can run their own conservation project,” he enthuses.
There are also plans afoot to explore the UK coastline more widely, beyond the south-west.
Working together
Of course such a partnership isn’t without its questions. Do marine conservation and the world’s largest cruise ships really form a happy marriage?
Halls wholeheartedly affirms so. He adds that RCG backed his project straight away and says not only did the group agree on the importance of telling these stories, it backed him in the knowledge that awkward questions may be asked.
“The cruise industry has grown over many years and it’s here to stay but we can explore how it can operate more sustainably. How it can work with the coastal communities it visits and work proactively with them. It requires a multi-stakeholder approach”
Returning to Halls’ original motivation, turning the tide of messaging around marine conservation to a more positive narrative, he can see the possibilities that the cruise industry holds.
“It has the potential to create millions of ocean ambassadors. Cruise lines should never underestimate how many marine biologists, conservationists, filmmakers, writers they have created because of what they have seen onboard their ships. The industry can accelerate that, not just allow it to happen by osmosis. Whether it’s shore walks or showing conservation films onboard, it really can create that positive messaging.”
It’s something that resonates with Bouldin too. He describes how through a Clia working group, RCL hosted students from an inner city college in London, educating them on the steps the company needs to take to maintain and increase sustainability.
“They really enjoyed understanding what happens behind the scenes. I want to do much more of it,” he insists.
If what Bouldin refers to as Halls’ “passion and big ideas” continue to gather pace with RCG’s support, that tide of positivity could just become an integral part of a wave of change within the cruise sector.
Royal Caribbean Group’s sustainability efforts
Ben Bouldin says: “We are always focused on continuous improvement. Our first net zero ship is due to be delivered in 2035 and we are confident in achieving that. That said there is no quick fix. We are modernising our fleet and with the introduction of Icon of the Seas as well as Celebrity Ascent and Silver Nova, all of which are LNG capable, we will have our most efficient ships by brand.
“We know LNG is an interim solution however and we are trialling other options such as different biofuels. We have also joined the “getting to zero” coalition and partnered with Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center that allows us to collaborate with other leaders, which is critical to the long term of the cruise industry.”
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