Marella Cruises rolls out industry first microfibre filter initiative to support the prevention of ocean pollution from microplastics across the fleet

11 March 2025 – Marella Cruises and Cleaner Seas Group are rolling out an industry first initiative in microfibres captured in all laundry systems across the fleet of the five ships by September 2025 after a successful six-month trial on Marella Explorer which showed that 99% of microfibres were captured.

In May 2024, Marella Cruises installed its first two groundbreaking INDIKON Marine filters onto Marella Explorer ship’s crew laundry system for the trial to prevent affecting delicate ecosystems and marine life from plastic microfibres.

Alongside the ongoing research with the University of Surrey, Cleaner Seas Group has also commissioned an independent laboratory to test the capture rate of the INDIKON Marine filter. A sample of both the laundry wastewater and a sample of the paper from a full cartridge from the Marella Explorer ship were sent for analysis. A test was conducted to compare the original volume of microfibres found in the laundry wastewater Vs the captured volume from the used cartridges. The test showed that 99% of microfibres were captured, the best possible outcome.

The roll out of the INDIKON filters, which have been matched to the ship requirements through pioneering technology from the support of Marella Cruises’ technical team and Cleaner Seas Group, will be installed across the entire fleet will help to capture more microfibres per year. TUI Cruises has also trialled the INDIKON filters last year.

Based on the results from the research, Marella Cruises’ microfibre footprint will be capturing an estimated 500kg of microfibre pollution per ship, per year. Through this capture of microfibres across all the laundry systems onboard it helps support the prevention of pollution from impacting marine ecosystems and the INDIKON filters can be reused and recycled for future use.

Olivia Wells, Sustainability Manager at Marella Cruises said: “Installing the INDIKON filters onto our Marella fleet of ships will help prevent microplastics from entering our oceans, which have a negative impact on sea life. Microfibres, recognised as of the largest known source of primary marine microplastic pollution^[1], can carry toxic chemicals that erode into the environment, accounting for 35% of the microplastics in the ocean. Our commitment to rolling out INDIKON filters across all laundry machines is a first for the cruise sector, and we hope other cruise lines join in the help to reduce microplastic pollution into our oceans.”

Dave Miller, CEO at Cleaner Seas Group said: “It’s been a huge opportunity to work with Marella Cruises on installing the Cleaner Seas filter range and helping to mitigate their microfibre footprint across their fleet of ships. As we launched our professional filter range the team at Marella have been an awesome partner and supported not only our mission to end ocean pollution but have also set a new course in microplastic prevention at sea. We hope to continue working together across the TUI Group on its microfibre prevention.”

[1] https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/46622