What the green lobby won’t tell you about cruises

A recent report into cruising’s carbon footprint was full of far-fetched predictions, and made no mention of the industry’s net-zero efforts

Of all the accusations vehemently fired at the cruise industry concerning its carbon footprint, the one crime it cannot be accused of is sitting back and doing nothing.
Earlier this month, the industry appeared in the crosshairs of green travel lobby group Transport & Environment (T&E), which highlighted its high carbon emissions alongside a somewhat far-fetched prediction that the size of cruise ships could swell to 11,000 passengers by 2050 as part of a boom in luxury travel.
It is perfectly possible that colossi even larger than Icon of the Seas, which burst onto the cruising scene earlier this year as the world’s largest ship – holding up to 7,600 passengers – can be constructed. 
However, a question mark remains over whether there is an appetite for these floating giants, especially when the logistical difficulties of operating such ships are considered. For a start, such leviathans wouldn’t even fit into most ports.
T&E’s claim that this growth would be fuelled by explosive demand for luxury travel is even more fantastical and not borne out in the slightest by trends to date. As anyone with even a passing knowledge of the industry will tell you, customers wanting a more upscale style of cruising opt for upmarket lines whose ships number guests in their hundreds rather than thousands.
This sector of the cruise market has boomed in recent years, prompting the likes of Silversea, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas to add new ships. Simultaneously, the emergence of newcomers such as Explora Journeys and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, whose ships are similarly petite, underscores the “small is beautiful” mantra. 
It’s one that has become even more pertinent since the Covid pandemic, with some travellers consciously eschewing larger ships to avoid the associated crowds.
The cruise industry’s stratospheric growth over the past two decades has inevitably brought increased greenhouse gas emissions, which T&E asserts have jumped by 20 per cent since 2019 alone. 
These criticisms join the chorus from environmentalists, who regularly damn cruise ships for their high carbon footprint, especially when compared with alternative modes of transport, most notably aviation, which also attracts their ire. 
Yet sustainability has increasingly become the watchword in cruise industry circles as it is now an area too vital to be ignored or downplayed and, in some regions of the world, is being legally enforced with strict emissions limits.
Some might argue that this has dragged cruise lines kicking and screaming into a world of compliance, but it’s clear the industry recognises the importance of clean cruising and is proactively seeking its own solutions with the aim of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Companies now employ a raft of experts dedicated to making operations more sustainable through areas such as recycling, waste reduction and streamlining systems to make them more efficient; entire departments are given over to this on ships and ashore.
Cutting-edge designs aimed at improving operational efficiencies are evident, with each new ship that launches incorporating additional energy-saving initiatives, such as LED lighting, heat recovery systems and the ability to plug into shoreside power while in port, negating the need to keep engines running.
Massive investments are being made to rid the industry of its dependence on fossil fuels and develop more environmentally friendly alternatives. While liquefied natural gas (LNG) is now the fuel of choice for modern ships, the resulting levels of harmful methane released into the atmosphere – known as methane slip – mean it cannot be a long-term solution. This underpins the need for alternatives, such as biofuels and battery power, but the challenge is producing sufficient quantities of the former to meet demand, and adapting the latter for use on larger ships.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) says lines have reduced emissions by an average of 16 per cent over the past five years and are pursuing myriad sustainable energy sources in co-operation with fuel producers and engine manufacturers.
“The cruise industry is investing billions in ships as it pursues its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and is making great strides,” said UK & Ireland managing director Andy Harmer. “Thanks to cutting-edge technology, each new class of ship is more sustainable than the one before, helping the industry to be a leader in this aspect of responsible tourism.”
In fact, when it comes to plugging into shoreside power, the industry’s efforts to hit its sustainability goals are hindered by a lack of infrastructure ashore.
So far, 120 CLIA member ships, representing nearly half of the association’s total, have the capability to plug into shoreside power when in port – a total expected to exceed 210 by 2028 – but few places can support them.
Among UK ports, only Southampton currently offers power, and for just one ship at a time, while Portsmouth is due to offer shoreside connectivity from next year.
MSC Cruises is one of the lines that has been at the forefront of green initiatives. It proved that sustainable sailings were possible with a historic voyage on its new ship, MSC Euribia, from France to Denmark last summer using liquefied biogas that was hailed for its net zero greenhouse gas emissions. 
So why hasn’t it happened since? MSC wanted to prove that it could be done – but this was just a one-off voyage because supply constraints and exorbitant costs were, and still are, the biggest barriers to wider utilisation.
The line has since contented itself with developing other eco-friendly strategies, the most recent being a new optimised method of planning cruise itineraries that promises to cut its fleetwide emissions by up to 15 per cent.
Such initiatives are constant and ongoing, underlining that, for the cruise industry, the will is there. The way is just taking a little longer.

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