Worst polluting cruise lines named as single ship 'spews out as much CO2 as a town'

The world's largest cruise ships emitted arsenic overmuch c dioxide arsenic a tiny municipality past year.

The vigor depletion of these mega-ships - which powerfulness air-conditioned cabins, restaurants and amusement facilities - tin pb to carbon emissions on par with a tiny town.

As each shipping companies visiting European ports are required to state their c dioxide emissions, user mag Which? was capable to analyse the EU’s 2023 monitoring, reporting and verification information to find which cruise lines were the astir polluting connected average, based connected vessel emissions per nautical mile travelled.

Rather than looking astatine full emissions, which would simply item the cruise lines with the astir ships, the investigation focused connected emissions per region travelled to place the worst polluting vessels. Disney Cruise Line, contempt having lone 1 vessel successful European waters past twelvemonth - the 2,500 idiosyncratic capableness Disney Dream - topped the array with mean CO2 emissions of astir 1 and fractional tonnes (1,481kg) per nautical mile.

Norwegian, with 10 ships successful European waters, was the second-worst polluter based connected mean emissions per ship, with each vas emitting an mean of 1.4 tonnes (1413 kg) of CO2 per nautical mile. The institution besides boasts the astir polluting cruise vessel successful Europe, according to data. The Norwegian Epic, with a capableness of 4,100, emitted 2 tonnes of CO2 for each nautical mile it travelled.

In total, this azygous vas was liable for an astounding 95,000 tonnes (94,986,000 kg) of CO2 emissions successful 2023 - equivalent to a municipality of astir 20,000 residents, akin to Newmarket, Suffolk. Other high-emission cruise lines included Princess Cruises, with mean emissions of 1253 kg per nautical mile, intimately followed by Royal Caribbean astatine 1248 kg.

As the popularity of cruises increases - the Cruise Lines International Association predicts that 36 cardinal radical volition instrumentality a cruise vacation this twelvemonth - ships are getting larger, and truthful is their biology impact. Notably, the 10 most-polluting cruise ships successful 2023 were each mega-ships carrying thousands of passengers, 3 of which belonged to Norwegian.

European ships volition lone statesman reporting methane emissions adjacent year. It is simply a much potent planetary warming state than c dioxide. Which’s ranking besides doesn’t relationship for aerial and h2o pollution, which are presently excessively hard to measure.

Air contamination adjacent the seashore tin besides person superior wellness implications. According to Transport & Environment, a greenish deliberation tank, the 45 cruise ships that docked astatine Southampton larboard successful 2022 spewed retired astir 9 times much sulphur pollutants than each of the city’s 93,000 cars combined.

Associated British Ports, however, disputed this figure. Many holidaymakers whitethorn not realise the existent biology interaction of their cruise holidays. A abstracted survey conducted by c simplification consultancy Ecollective connected behalf of Which? revealed that a rider connected a European cruise could person a larger c footprint than idiosyncratic taking a short-haul level holiday.

The survey recovered that a no-fly Mediterranean cruise emits 5 times much c dioxide equivalent (Co2e) per idiosyncratic than flying to Barcelona and staying successful a edifice (2,100kg CO2e compared to 425kg CO2e). The c footprint of a two-week Caribbean cruise, including instrumentality flights to Barbados, is much than treble that of a two-week full-board vacation successful Barbados (6,196kg CO2e compared to 2,487kg CO2e). Greenwashing tin marque it hard for consumers to accurately measure the existent biology interaction of their cruise holidays.

There are galore factors to consider, and immoderate cruise lines' claims astir exhaust state cleaning systems, known arsenic 'scrubbers', the usage of liquid earthy state (LNG) and enactment power* whitethorn confuse holidaymakers.

Hurtigruten, the Norwegian cruise operator, is starring the mode with innovation connected the seas, boasting 2 vessels that sail with partial artillery power. Moreover, Viking is making waves with the operation of 4 hydrogen substance cell-powered ships.

The investigation does not see ships that sailed little than 20,000 nautical miles arsenic they did not implicit a afloat cruise play successful Europe successful 2023.

Biggest polluting European cruise lines

(Cruise line, 2023 cruise enactment mean CO2 emissions per region [kg CO2/n mile], fig of ships)

1. Disney Cruise Line: 1481, 1
2. Norwegian Cruise Line: 1413, 10
3. Princess Cruises: 1253, 4
4. Royal Caribbean: 1248, 7
5. MSC Cruises: 1229, 19
6. Virgin Voyages: 1229, 2
7. Celebrity Cruises: 1228, 7
8. Cunard: 1207, 2
9. P&O Cruises: 1108, 7
10. Costa Cruises: 1051, 9

A Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said: “While we afloat enactment transparency and accountability successful emissions reporting, it is important to enactment that the methodology utilized successful this investigation does not accurately bespeak the afloat discourse of our operations, particularly for a cruise enactment with lone 1 vessel operating successful the portion for a comparatively abbreviated play of time.

“Disney Cruise Line complies with each aerial and h2o prime standards. While sailing successful Europe, the Disney Dream utilized a operation of hydrotreated rootlike lipid on with ultra-low-sulphur marine state oil, which reduces greenhouse state emissions beyond IMO requirements. DCL is committed to continuing to trim its emissions successful enactment with The Walt Disney Company’s biology goals.”

A spokesperson for Norwegian said that portion the EU’s MRV information tin supply invaluable insights, it’s lone 1 portion of the afloat representation arsenic it does not relationship for clip spent successful port, wherever emissions are people little and wherever vessels walk a ample magnitude of clip oregon the fig of passengers being transported connected the ship, which it considers should beryllium considered to bespeak the ship’s ratio per person. The spokesperson said that it is committed to reducing greenhouse state emissions by 25% by 2030, utilizing a 2019 baseline.

A spokesperson for Carnival Corporation & plc (P&O, Costa, Cunard, Princess and Carnival) said:
“Reducing greenhouse state (GHG) emissions is Carnival Corporation & plc’s #1 sustainability precedence and we are precise arrogant of our advancement truthful acold successful pursuing nett zero emissions by 2050. Thanks to our assertive clime actions, our fleet produces 10+% little full GHG emissions contiguous than our highest humanities twelvemonth (2011), contempt expanding capableness by ~30% during that time.

“GHG emissions based connected region sailed is not a bully measurement of the biology show of astir cruise ships, which often sail shorter distances and walk important clip successful port. A vessel with precocious emissions-per-distance-sailed (like successful your table) whitethorn really nutrient little full emissions than a vessel with debased emissions-per-distance-sailed traveling further distances and utilizing much fuel.

“Knowing the Which? organisation aims to pass user choice, we caution you against judging a ship’s biology show based connected “emissions per mile.” Instead we urge considering indicators that thrust full emissions reductions, specified arsenic emissions per little berth capacity. In fact, we’re connected way to person chopped our GHG emissions per little berth capableness (called c intensity) by 40+% by 2026 (vs. 2008 levels), which is up of the IMO’s 2030 c strength simplification timeline. Carnival Corporation & plc has a demonstrated multi-decade committedness to sustainable and liable cruise operations elaborate annually successful our Sustainability Report. We invitation you and your readers to cheque it out.”