Before the corona pandemic, cruise ships were one of the fastest growing forms of tourism worldwide. But the ‘floating apartment buildings’ are particularly bad for the climate and the environment.
The largest cruise ships can carry nearly ten thousand passengers and crew. The size of the ships is impressive, as is the entertainment on board. Roller coasters, skydive simulators, planetariums, go-kart tracks: you can think of it as crazy as you can find on board a cruise ship these days. For lovers of greenery, there are even parks with tropical plants and trees.
But the ships themselves are not very green. It takes a lot of energy to drag all those people and all that entertainment across the oceans. A passenger going on a two-week sea cruise produces nearly as much carbon emissions as someone flying to and from Thailand, according to research Numbers of Environment Central. Such a holiday for two people releases more CO2 into the air than the average annual gas and electricity consumption of a Dutch household.
“Cruise ships sail on very polluting fuel oil,” says Mariken Stolk of Milieu Centraal. “In doing so, they contribute to climate change, but also to a lot of air and water pollution. It is perhaps even more climate-damaging than flying.”
Pollution and Dying Turtles
Last year scientists published the most comprehensive Overview to date of the effects cruise ships have on the environment and human health. From this the reader can only conclude that cruise ships mainly cause misery.
An anthology: dumped wastewater pollutes and damages ecosystems. Whales and turtles die from collisions with cruise ships. On the coast, they lead to widespread air pollution, with consequences for health and nature. And then there are the infectious diseases that can spread very quickly on board.
There is evidence for all these problems, but the scientists warn that we still do not know much about the environmental and health impact of these ships, because cruise companies are not transparent about this. “We therefore believe that the cruise industry should be more closely researched and regulated in order to prevent or at least reduce its negative impacts on both the environment and people’s health,” the researchers said.
Nitrogen and Sulfur
It is difficult to draw up such rules because cruise ships operate in different countries and also in international waters. But to prevent pollution on the coast, the European Commission wants to make it mandatory for seagoing vessels to use shore power in the port. At the moment they still run generators there to keep the lights and air conditioning on, but from 2030 this must be done emission-free.
Emissions of harmful substances on the coast are a major problem in countries such as Southern Europe, where standards are less strict for the fuels used by ships. Cruise ships in Barcelona emit more than five times as much sulfur dioxide as all passenger cars in the city combined, research by 2019 showed. Transport & Environment†
In the Netherlands, the emission of this harmful substance, which can cause respiratory problems and acidification of nature, has already decreased considerably. In 2020, sea-going vessels will emit ten times less sulfur dioxide than ten years previously, because stricter rules have come into force on the amount of sulfur that may be used in fuel for ships in the North Sea.
Maritime shipping is still a significant source of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, according to figures from the RIVM† But according to a spokesperson, it is not known for how much of those emissions cruise ships are responsible.
Anyway, river cruises are a lot more environmentally friendly. They can often stop the generators ashore now. In the port of Amsterdam they are obliged to use shore power unless there is a malfunction, a spokesperson said. Due to the smaller size, river cruises also emit a lot less CO2 per passenger than sea cruise ships.
‘Shrink needed’
The most sustainable alternative to sea cruises is the sailing cruise. Such trips are now offered by various companies and result in much less emissions. “That makes sense, of course, because you mainly sail on wind energy,” says Stolk of Milieu Centraal.
The ‘traditional’ cruise with roller coasters and swimming pools cannot be made green for the time being. “To combat climate change, it is therefore important that less use is made of cruise ships and airplanes,” says Stolk. “In particular, shrinkage is needed from these ways of celebrating holidays.”