Ecotourism has hit the cruise industry. Royal Caribbean’s most sustainable ship yet. There’s a roller coaster on board and it’s got a smaller environmental footprint, you were saying. And true to form, they’re going big on their green innovations. The first cruise ship in America to be powered by liquid natural gas, which might explain why 50% of US citizens believe cruising is environmentally friendly, and business is booming. What was once an elitist pastime is now on a par with many mainstream package holidays. But although many cruise companies claim they are becoming more climate friendly, the reality can be quite different. So how did cruise ships become such a catastrophe for the planet? This is the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s icon of the seas. Its design is typical of modern cruise ships, big, boxy and wide, which is what we’ve come to expect. Something that functions less as a ship and more like a floating resort. But they haven’t always looked like this. The Princess in Victoria Louise, widely regarded as the first purpose-built cruise ship, looks completely different. Like many passenger vessels at this time, it has a sleek streamlined profile designed for speed to ferry passengers across the Atlantic as quickly as possible. Over the years, these ships became more lavish, prioritizing comfort and luxury to attract more wealthy passengers. But the advent of affordable transatlantic flights meant that there was no longer a demand for travel by sea. As a result, cruise ships focused on trips to Caribbean ports and warmer climates. And the design of cruise ships changed to maximize what goes inside and on top of the vessels rather than speed. Which these days is a lot. The world’s largest cruise ship, the icon of the seas, carrying nearly 10,000 people. Across its 20 decks, the icon of the seas can accommodate the world’s largest onboard water park with 6 water slides, a 17 m indoor waterfall, entertainment shows, and more than 20 different dining options. But if you’re happy to board a slightly smaller vessel, the costs can fall well below the average holiday spend. And as prices have fallen, cruise tourism has grown more popular than ever. All this increase in passengers and facilities means that more energy is needed and more waste is produced. To get an idea of the scale of the pollution produced by an average marine fuel powered cruise ship, it works out as roughly 4 times more CO2 per passenger than flying. And it can also emit as much particulate matter as 1 million cars every day. The 218 cruise ships operating in Europe in 2022 emitted more than 4 times more sulfur oxides than all the continent’s cars combined. And on top of emissions, there’s oil, sewage, plastics, and other harmful chemicals that are dumped into the sea. 25% of all ocean waste comes from cruise ships, even though they only account for 1% of the world’s merchant fleet. And then there’s the noise from cruise ships, which displaces fish and predators. And light emissions from the ships at night can create problems with migration of zooplankton, cephalopods, and fish. Carnival Cruise Line is coming clean about polluting oceans, dumping waste, dumping oily waste into the ocean for years. There are things that cruise ships can do to limit their impact, but most companies are failing to adopt them. Emissions could be as much as 24% lower if ships reduce their speed. And using electrical connections in ports, a cleaner alternative to running highly polluted generators when docked, has resulted in less air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the cities of Hamburg, Rostock and Kiel. And ships could also be using fuel cells and renewable hydrogen or methanol, which emit fewer greenhouse gasses. But many have opted for liquid natural gas instead, which does cut carbon dioxide emissions, but emits more greenhouse gas overall, because LNG engines leak methane, which traps about 80 times more heat than CO2 during the 20 years after it’s released into the atmosphere. Royal Caribbean has made much of the icon of the sea’s green innovations, but while its advanced water treatment technology has been welcomed by environmental groups, its waste to energy system has limited benefits. Its fuel cell batteries have not been installed due to a problem with the suppliers. And its shore power capability can only currently be accommodated by 2% of the world’s ports. But port cities in Europe have found a solution. An increasing number are restricting cruise ships and some are banning them altogether. Barcelona and Amsterdam are the latest to follow suit. And bans can have a huge impact. Venice was Europe’s third most polluted cruise port in 2019. But thanks to a 2021 ban on large cruise ships, the city has reduced sulfur emissions by 80%.
