cruise ship industry environmental impact

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Care about the planet? Skip the cruise, for now.

By Thor Benson

Posted on Jun 27, 2022 10:00 AM EDT

3 minute read

Hybrid ships could make cruises better for the planet. Pixabay

COVID-19 lockdowns are no longer preventing vacationers from traveling the globe this summer, which has caused a jump in travel among Americans and elsewhere . More interest in travel, however, means renewed excitement for cruises. Carnival Cruise Line and other top cruise ship companies have been breaking records for ticket sales this year. But a water-bound vacation isn’t just a concern for infectious disease—these ships are having a massive effect on the climate.

Cruise ships are incredibly large—among the largest ships in the world—and it takes a lot of fuel to keep them moving. They’re often over three football fields long and can feature pools, ice skating rinks, basketball courts and more. A ship can burn up to 250 tons of fuel in a single day . Studies have shown one cruise ship produces roughly the same amount of carbon emissions as 12,000 cars. They’re also poorly regulated.

Even without the risks of COVID, all that fuel can still lead to breathing in unhealthy levels of pollution. Researchers have found the air quality on cruise ships to be extremely poor due to the pollution these ships generate. The conditions are generally equivalent to living in a heavily polluted city.

Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, tells Popular Science that the type of fuel cruise ships burn contributes to their many harmful environmental effects. “They generally use bunker fuel, which is the dirtiest type of fuel. Bunker fuel puts out lots of black carbon, sulfates and other chemicals,” Jacobson says. “Black carbon is the second leading cause of global warming after carbon dioxide.”

[Related: The world’s largest hybrid ship will set sail in 2024 .]

Bunker fuel is a thick, tar-like fuel that’s high in sulfur. It comes from leftovers of the refining process and is used for large ships. Black carbon is often referred to as soot, and it is produced by burning this fuel and by wildfires. The EPA claims it is linked to “cardiovascular disease, cancer, and even birth defects.” Jacobson says black carbon is often burned by ships that travel near the Arctic and Antarctic, and the pollutant lands on sea ice and snow—in turn melting them faster. It can also get into clouds and help evaporate them more quickly, which causes further warming because clouds help reflect sunlight.

The particulates from burning bunker fuel often get cleared out of the air through precipitation, thus eventually polluting the ocean, Jacobson says.  

What’s the solution? Cruise ships could just be banned, of course, but Jacobson says there’s a pretty simple technological solution. Like with cars, it’s a matter of transitioning these ships to clean energy. He says ships can be transitioned to batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.

Batteries are more energy efficient for small to medium-sized ships that aren’t going long distances. But for journeys longer than a few dozen miles, hydrogen fuel cells are necessary because the weight of the batteries starts affecting efficiency levels. 

“For a long distance, you probably need fuel cells. That’s usually the case,” Jacobson says. “Otherwise you’re just spending a lot of energy carrying around more and more batteries. Hydrogen is a very light fuel.”

Some ferries are already being transitioned to battery power. A battery-powered ferry in Denmark just set the record for the longest trip on a single charge by traveling 50 nautical miles. That ferry is less than 200 feet long. Norway unveiled the world’s largest battery-powered ferry last year, and it’s over 400 feet long. The world’s largest hybrid ferry will start transporting passengers between Britain and France in the next few years. Cruise ships are thought of as luxurious and built for fun, but they’re taking a major toll on the environment. Transitioning them to clean energy is the only solution to this problem if they’re going to continue to exist. A Norwegian company called Hurtigruten has already developed hybrid cruise ships, so perhaps change is on the way. Jacobson says it will just be a matter of convincing the cruise lines to invest in making that change.

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The Cruise Industry Is On a Course For Climate Disaster

T o future archeologists, mega cruise ships might be some of the strangest artifacts of our civilization—these goliaths of mass-engineered delight, armed with dangling water slides and phalanxes of umbrellas. Looking up at one, you might gain the impression that cruise companies are trying to awe their customers into having a nice time. We have built battleships of pleasure, toiling the world’s oceans, hunting for fun.

It probably won’t come as a shock that the whole thing isn’t exactly sustainable. A medium-sized cruise ship spews greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 12,000 cars , while environmentalists accuse big industry players of investing little in decarbonization, and of covering up endless delay tactics in a heavy coat of greenwash. And for years, the industry has been dogged by bad PR from everything from routine dumping of toxic sludge to increasingly organized outrage from communities tired of hordes of tourists getting dumped at their docks.

The big question, though, is whether those customers buying cruise packages to the Bahamas or Alaska particularly care. It’s easy to make the case that they don’t. Despite the industry’s continued investment in new fossil fuel-powered ships, cruise ticket sales are projected to climb back to record 2019 sales levels this year after a hit during the pandemic, according to the latest industry association report .

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At least one cruise company, though, is betting that at least some potential customers care about sustainable vacations. Hurtigruten, a specialty cruise line based in Norway, says it has built its last fossil fuel-powered ship. On June 7, the company unveiled new details about the technologies it’s testing in pursuit of the world’s first zero-emission cruise ship, and renderings of what the boat might look like. Instead of towering over the ocean, the ship seems to cling close to the water, the better to reduce air resistance. In place of smokestacks, the designers envision retractable sails that double as solar panels. It runs on batteries instead of the thick, sticky fuel oil that powers most ships. And it’ll be ready, the company hopes, by 2030.

With time running short to phase out fossil fuels and avert the worst effects of climate change, the moral argument is compelling. But big businesses often make their decisions on what they might consider more practical concerns than what is “right” and “wrong.” It’s possible that Hurtigruten and its zero-emissions vessels could turn the industry ship around. But it could just be a green fluke, a new offering for a small slice of climate-conscious vacationers, as the rest of the industry chugs on as before.

Designing a green cruise line

Just about every CEO wants to be counted as an environmentalist these days. But Daniel Skjeldam, the CEO of Hurtigruten is one of those few who doesn’t dance around one of the more uncomfortable dimensions of our climate problem: the apparent conflict between the endless pursuit of more, bigger, better, and the limits of the earth’s biosphere.

“I think it’s sheer wrong to build bigger and bigger and bigger cruise ships,” Skjeldam says. The average cruise ship has around 3,000 passengers, but cruise companies have been investing in ever-bigger liners. “7,000 [passengers], 8,000, 9,000,” Skjeldam says. “It’s just wrong.”

The idea of running a cruise line occurred to Skjeldam back in 2012. Hurtigruten (the name means “Express Route” in English) was losing money, and Skjeldam, then commercial director at European budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle, thought he could turn things around. He wasn’t in consideration for the role, though, so over the course of several weeks, the ambitious then-37-year-old executive repeatedly called through to the switchboard at the office of the company’s chairman, until finally he was able to come in and give his pitch in person.

It wasn’t long after that Skjeldam, officially appointed as CEO in October of that year, was on a Hurtigruten ship sailing past the Svalbard archipelago, home to the world’s northernmost inhabited town. He was on the bridge, having a cup of coffee with the captain, a five-decade veteran at the company, who pointed out a glacier several miles away. When he started sailing for the company in 1980, the captain said, the glacier had reached all the way to where they were floating now.

The experience, for Skjeldam, was eye-opening, and under his leadership, the company began making investments in sustainability long before some of the bigger players in the industry started doing the same. In 2016, the company began outfitting its ships to use power from the grid while tied up in port instead of burning their own fuel—the technology can reduce air pollution when ships are docked by up to 70%. That year, Hurtigruten ordered the world’s first hybrid-power cruise ships, and started offering cruises on its first, the MS Roald Amundsen in 2019, which the company says has about 20% lower emissions than a similarly sized conventional ship. The company now operates four such vessels.

Skjeldam says the changes have to do with both customer desires for more sustainable travel, which he expects to grow in the years ahead, as well as employee demands. Hurtigruten is the largest employer in Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s main settlement. Temperatures there are warming six times faster than the global average, bringing unseasonably hot weather, glacial retreat, and more frequent avalanches triggered by unstable snow. “I speak to these people, and they reflect upon the massive changes that have happened just over the last decade, and it scares them,” says Skjeldam. “That’s driven this interest and desire from within the company on driving change and being part of the solution.”

Hurtigruten is aiming for carbon-neutral operations by 2040, and to cut all scope three emissions—those from the company’s supply chain—by 2050. But despite investing more than $70 million into emissions-reduction technology, progress has been slow, which the company blames partially on energy prices, which made it more expensive to buy low-carbon biofuels. Indeed, while Hurtigruten managed to cut about 2% of overall emissions between 2018 and 2022—emissions per customer trip remained essentially unchanged.

Still, Skjeldam is pushing ahead with the company’s next major project: building the industry’s first entirely zero-emission vessel. In 2021, the team began reaching out to technology firms and shipbuilders, and doing feasibility studies, figuring out what technologies—a small nuclear reactor, perhaps, or maybe using more biofuels—might work. Eventually, they settled on batteries.

There was no way to make a battery that would last long enough to use on what the company calls its “expedition” cruises—where trips vary from week-long pleasure rides the Galapagos to multi-month odysseys between the Arctic and Antarctica, and fares can range from a few thousand dollars to the price of a luxury sports car. But it might work for their flagship service: a multi-stop cruise up the Norwegian coast (which also serves as a mail and transit service between isolated fjord communities) that would offer frequent opportunities to recharge.

Even with many stops, the battery would have to be huge. Currently, the engineers are eyeing a capacity of 60 megawatt-hours, equivalent to 1,200 Tesla Model 3 batteries. This would allow it to run for well over 300 miles before recharging. Maximizing that range means finding ways to drastically cut the ship’s energy usage. To do this, the company is exploring using underwater maneuvering jets that can retract into the hull to cut drag, and a streamlined profile with a tiny cockpit-style bridge to reduce air resistance, as well as adding sails and solar panels to harness extra power. The company plans to have a final design by 2025.

Batteries vs. Biofuels

Hurtigruten’s work may prove out some worthy technologies that the rest of the cruise industry could adopt. But the central idea of using a big battery may ultimately be impossible for bigger cruise ships, because batteries can’t store enough power in a small enough space—to get across an ocean, you’d need a battery that might take up much of an entire ship. Sails can help, but they wouldn’t be able to do more than provide an energy boost for many kinds of shipping. That leaves either biofuels or synthetic fuels produced using renewable energy—each with its own drawbacks.

Methanol, made from renewable energy and CO2, is a good choice, but making it requires obtaining CO2 from a limited supply of global biomass (demand for agricultural waste and other forms of plant-based carbon are set to explode with global demand for alternative fuels) or else using huge amounts of renewable energy to pull CO2 from the atmosphere. Ammonia is another option for the shipping industry, and it gets around the CO2 supply problem, but it wouldn’t work for passenger ships, since a leak would expose thousands of people to poisonous ammonia fumes. Then there’s hydrogen, though the lightest element can be tricky to work with , since it leaks easily and needs to be supercooled to get to high enough densities to transport, which uses a lot of energy.

Four companies—Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and MSC—control the lion’s share of the cruise market. They’ve made some positive moves, such as investing in ships capable of running on methanol, though such vessels might continue to mostly use diesel for the time being due to lack of refueling infrastructure . But, with the notable exception of Norwegian , the big players’ current environmental plans primarily hinge on using liquified natural gas (LNG) in the newest generation of ships. Using LNG does cut down on particulate emissions and certain dangerous pollutants like sulfur and nitrogen oxides. The industry also cites the fact that LNG has about 30% lower carbon dioxide emissions than using heavy fuel oil. But CO2 isn’t the only thing that escapes from the smokestacks—the engines popular in the cruise industry leave a lot of the natural gas unburned, which gets emitted as well.

Natural gas, also known as methane, is itself a powerful greenhouse gas. With a warming potential more than 80 times greater than CO2 over a 20-year timescale, the overall emissions picture of using LNG is likely worse for global climate change than if the cruise lines had stuck with petroleum.

When asked about the use of LNG on its vessels, a representative for Carnival pointed to the company’s “long term aspirations to achieve net carbon-neutral ship operations by 2050.” MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean did not respond to requests for comment. “There is [an] abundance of scientific data and well-respected studies that showcase the environmental benefits and value of using LNG, one of the cleanest fuels available today,” the Carnival spokesperson wrote over email. “We also are piloting other next-generation green technologies such as biofuels, fuel cells and large battery storage systems, among others.”

Currently there’s little in the way of regulations to limit greenhouse gasses like CO2 and methane from shipping. Cruise industry emissions fall under the jurisdiction of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the United Nations, which technically has the authority to force deep sustained emissions cuts across worldwide shipping. In practice, though, the IMO has historically been heavily influenced by those very interests, with many countries appointing industry representatives to their IMO delegations. And the powerful Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the industry’s international lobbying arm, has not exactly fallen over itself to help strengthen emissions standards in ongoing IMO talks on greenhouse gas reductions, according to Bryan Comer, marine shipping program lead at the International Council on Clean Transportation.

“Anything that they can do to try and make the math work in their favor and to not have to do anything is what they’re trying to do at the International Maritime Organization,” says Comer. “They set targets that already include loopholes for them, and then they fight against climate regulations in foreign policy forums, and then once the regulations are agreed, they start fighting for exemptions and adjustment factors and special treatment. And oftentimes they get it.” CLIA representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Hurtigruten is not a member of the organization.

What matters to vacationers?

Some climate activists say there’s a good argument that the cruise industry shouldn’t exist at all. Cruise ships are, on the whole, basically inherently wasteful—if you want to see the world, dragging an entire resort around with you is probably not going to be the most efficient way to do it. Compared to flying to a destination and staying in a hotel, cruising almost always has a far higher emissions profile, according to research by Comer and others . A five-night, 1,200 mile cruise results in about 1,100 lbs of CO2 emissions, according to Comer. Flying the same distance and staying in a hotel would emit less than half of that. And that’s not counting for the fact that cruise guests often also have to fly to the port where they will embark.

Bringing that argument to cruise customers, though, can be an uphill battle. The cruise industry puts a lot of money into defending its environmental image. Activists in cities like Seattle, Wash., and Juneau, Ala., often greet disembarking passengers with leaflets on cruising’s environmental effects. But some campaigners say that passengers are often impervious to volunteers’ arguments. Some passengers, says Karla Hart, an activist with Juneau Cruise Control and co-founder of the Global Cruise Activist Network, will even stop to defend the industry, saying how switching to LNG or phasing out plastic straws has solved cruising’s environmental problem. It’s a symptom, in her view, of a broader dynamic between the cruise industry and its passengers: that customers want to believe they can have the perfect vacations advertised on television and online, even though they know the reality of what they will get is far different.

“It’s a suspension of reality, to go with one’s desire for an experience that you must know you can’t have,” Hart says. “The same as suspending your rational thinking that because they’re not using plastic straws, and they switch to LED lights, that they’re not completely polluting the environment.”

A new TIME survey conducted by The Harris Poll backs up some of those points. To environmental campaigners, cruising stands out as perhaps the most polluting sort of vacation. But fully half of Americans surveyed consider taking a cruise to be “eco-friendly,” with only one in three regarding such vacations as being bad for the environment.

More Americans regard flying as being bad for the environment, despite cruising’s bigger carbon footprint per passenger.

Trying to convince vacationers to make greener choices probably has limited effectiveness anyway. Many Americans consider cruising to be an affordable vacation option—mega cruises especially tend to benefit from economies of scale. Three out of five Americans surveyed by Harris Poll consider cost to be a very important factor in their vacation planning. Meanwhile, only one in five Americans think of the environmental impacts of their vacation in the same way.

Ujwal Arkalgud, who studies consumer decision-making at Lux Research, says that a specialty cruise provider like Hurtigruten might be able to attract customers genuinely interested in sustainability, but that the mass market customers will likely only ever be interested in having a kind of green alibi. “People are not buying to save the planet,” says Arkalgud. “Because you know, one simple way to save the planet would be to not go on the cruise.”

Absent a real push from customers, activists and environmental experts say that only regulation on the level of the IMO, or across enough big ports or markets like the U.S. or the E.U., can make the industry invest in decarbonization in a serious way. “The reason why you’re not seeing a lot of investment and innovation in zero-emission vessels is because it’s a competitive global industry,” says Comer. “If you do something that costs you more, and you’re still competing on price, and you can’t demonstrate to the passenger why they ought to pay more for this, there’s not really any incentive for you to do it.”

Skjeldam supports more regulation—to a certain extent, he says, such measures to limit cruise industry pollution are inevitable. But he also has more faith that cruise-goers actually care about the environment than either activists or other cruise executives. And as the effects of climate change become more pronounced, he says, more of the world’s cruise-buying masses will begin to see the light.

“Unfortunately, there is a misconception in part of the industry, where they don’t think that their guests really are focusing on this. I think that is wrong—I think the guests will focus heavily on it in the future,” Skjeldam says. “The public demands are coming.”

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Cruise Ship Discharges and Studies

• bilge water (water that collects in the lowest part of the ship's hull and may contain oil, grease and other contaminants)
• graywater (waste water from showers, sinks, laundries and kitchens)
• ballast water (water taken onboard or discharged from a vessel to maintain its stability)
• solid waste (food waste and garbage)

These discharges can have impacts on water quality. Impacts depend on the characteristics of the discharge (e.g., constituents present, levels of discharge) and the characteristics of the receiving waters (e.g., currents, temperature).

Work to Date on Cruise Ship Discharges

Cruise ship discharge assessment report (2008) *.

• what the waste stream is and how much is generated
• what laws apply to the waste stream
• how the waste stream is managed
• potential environmental impacts of the waste stream
• ongoing actions by the federal government to address the waste stream
• a wide range of options and alternatives to address the waste stream from cruise ships in the future

Plume dilution study (2008) *

Nitrogen compounds sampling report (2005) *

The EPA sampled wastewater from four cruise ships that operated in Alaska during the summer of 2005, to collect information on nutrients in cruise ship wastewater. 

Alaskan cruise vessel survey (2004) *

In 2004, the EPA distributed a "Survey Questionnaire to Determine the Effectiveness, Costs, and Impacts of Sewage and Graywater Treatment Devices for Large Cruise Ships Operating in Alaska" to all cruise ships authorized to carry 500 or more passengers that operated in Alaska at the time.

The final version of the survey (approved by the Office of Management and Budget), associated Federal Register notices, supporting documents and comments received can be found at   www.regulations.gov   under the EPA's docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2003-0081.

Sampling reports (2004) *

Plume tracking survey (2001)

The EPA conducted a plume tracking survey to study the dilution of cruise ship discharges from wastewater systems in offshore waters.

Public hearings (2000)

The EPA, together with the U.S. Coast Guard and other Federal agencies, solicited public input on the issue of cruise ship discharges during public hearings in Los Angeles, Juneau and Miami .

* For access to these reports, please submit a request through the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page.

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Rough seas or smooth sailing? The cruise industry is booming despite environmental concerns

Professor and Director, Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Toronto Metropolitan University

Teaching Faculty, Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Cruise ship season is officially underway in British Columbia. The season kicked off with the arrival of Norwegian Bliss on April 3 — the first of 318 ships that are scheduled to dock in Victoria this year. Victoria saw a record 970,000 passengers arrive in 2023, with more expected in 2024.

The cruise industry was badly hit by the suspension of cruise operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Fuelled by heavy consumer demand and industry innovation, cruising has made a comeback. It is now one of the fastest-growing sectors, rebounding even faster than international tourism.

While many predicted a difficult recovery , a recent industry report shows a remarkable post-pandemic rebound . Two million more people went on cruises in 2023 versus 2019, with demand predicted to top 35 million in 2024.

But environmental issues plague the sector’s revival. Are they an indication of rough seas ahead? Or will a responsive industry mean smooth sailing?

Cruising has long been criticized for being Janus-faced : on the surface, cruises are convenient, exciting holidays with reputed economic benefits. But lurking underneath are its negative environmental and social impacts .

Unprecedented growth

Newly constructed mega-ships are part of the industry’s unprecedented growth. Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world , with 18 decks, 5,600 passengers and 2,350 crew.

MSC World Europa with 6,700 passengers and 2,100 crew, P&O Arvia with 5,200 passengers and 1,800 crew, and Costa Smeralda with 6,600 passengers and 1,500 crew also claim mega-ship status.

Those sailing to and from Alaska via Victoria will be some of the estimated 700,000 passengers departing Seattle on massive ships three sport fields in length.

Baby boomers represent less than 25 per cent of cruise clientele. Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z have more interest than ever in cruising, with these younger markets being targeted as the future of cruise passengers.

The Cruise Lines International Association asserts that 82 per cent of those who have cruised will cruise again . To entice first-timers and meet the needs of repeat cruisers, companies are offering new itineraries and onboard activities, from simulated skydiving and bumper cars to pickleball and lawn bowling.

Solo cruise travel is also on the rise, and multi-generational family cruise travel is flourishing, explaining the extensive variety of cabin classes, activities and restaurants available on newly constructed and retrofitted ships.

However, only a few cruise ports are large enough to dock mega ships. Cruise lines are responding by offering off-beat experiences and catering more to the distinct desires of travellers.

In doing so, there is a move towards smaller vessels and luxury liners , river cruises and expedition cruising . Leveraging lesser-known ports that can only be accessed via compact luxury ships offers more mission-driven, catered experiences for the eco-minded traveller.

Cruising and environmental costs

Cruise ship visitors are known to negatively impact Marine World Heritage sites. While most sites regulate ballast water and wastewater discharge, there are concerns about ship air emissions and wildlife interactions .

Cruise ship journeys along Canada’s west coast, for example, are leaving behind a trail of toxic waste . A study by environmental organization Friends of the Earth concluded that a cruise tourist generates eight times more carbon emissions per day than a land tourist in Seattle.

Also, a rise in expedition cruising means more negative impacts (long-haul flights to farther ports, less destination management in fragile ecosystems, last chance tourism ) and a rise in carbon dioxide emissions.

Toxic air pollutants from cruise ships around ports are higher than pre-pandemic levels, leaving Europe’s port cities “choking on air pollution .” Last year, Europe’s 218 cruise ships emitted as much sulphur oxides as one billion cars — a high number, considering the introduction of the International Maritime Organization’s sulphur cap in 2020 .

Rough seas ahead or smooth sailing?

Royal Caribbean said its Icon of the Seas is designed to operate 24 per cent more efficiently than the international standard for new ships. International Maritime Organization regulations must be 30 per cent more energy-efficient than those built in 2014.

But despite the industry using liquefied natural gas instead of heavy fuel oil and electric shore power to turn off diesel engines when docking, industry critics still claim the cruise sector is greenwashing . As a result, some cities like Amsterdam, Barcelona and Venice are limiting or banning cruise ships .

Environmental critiques remain strong, especially for polar expeditions . The industry must respond and increase sustainability efforts , but their measures remain reactive (i.e., merely meeting international regulations) rather than proactive. In addition, by sailing their ships under flags of convenience , cruise companies evade taxes and demonstrate an unwillingness to abide by a nation’s environmental, health and labour regulations.

In any case, environmental concerns are escalating along with the industry. Travel agents and industry figures are aware of these impacts and should help promote cruise lines that demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practices.

Local residents need to expect more from port authorities and local governments in order to cope with cruise tourism . Cruise consumers should recognize the environmental costs of cruising, and demand accountability and transparency from cruise lines.

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Fraught with environmental baggage, the cruise industry is trying to go green, but is it enough?

The cruise industry has come under fire for its environmental footprint from environmental organizations, and the U.S. Department of Justice has taken up cases against specific lines for environmental violations . 

Meanwhile, the cruise industry insists it is making great strides in reducing its environmental impact by implementing new technologies and following or exceeding international guidelines.

One environmental organization, Friends of the Earth (FOE), even released a 2019 "report card" in June, grading each cruise line and its ships. Most received D's and F's. Cruise lines rejected the grades, questioning FOE's methodology.

FOE asserts taking a cruise can be more harmful to the environment and human health than other forms of travel.

So how will cruises go green? 

Brian Salerno, senior vice president of maritime policy at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), said the industry as a whole has taken steps toward going green both on its own accord and in accordance with the International Maritime Organization's set  MARPOL  rules, which have been updated over many decades. IMO is an agency of the United Nations.

"This is certainly something that has been a focus of the cruise industry, really even the maritime industry overall," Salerno said.

CLIA, which is the largest trade organization in the cruise industry, has 270 member ships, according to Salerno, who estimated there are more than 300 cruise ships operating around the globe.

“CLIA cruise lines are pioneers in maritime environmental protection and committed to responsible tourism – with policies that often exceed those required by law," CLIA said in a statement. 

The initiatives include a commitment from CLIA members to reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 (in comparison to 2008). 

"These investments are already showing significant progress towards reducing the environmental impact of the cruise industry, with many more technologies and practices currently under development," the statement continued. 

John Kaltenstein, deputy director of oceans and vessels at FOE, said that while the industry is making some small strides, there's a long way to go.

"I think they’ve made strides ... with the use of what we call advanced wastewater treatment systems," Kaltenstein said. The systems have improved filtering and treating grey water. 

But for the majority of the industry, there's a long way to go, according to Kaltenstein.

The United States Department of Justice has brought lawsuits against several major cruise lines.

Currently the DOJ has an open case against Princess Cruises. The cruise line and parent Carnival Cruise Lines  pleaded guilty for probation violations in June , stemming from a 2017 felony conviction over dumping oil-contaminated waste from one of its ships and intentional acts to cover it up, according to the DOJ.

"The people doing things perfectly, we aren't going to see," Joe Poux, assistant chief in the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ told USA TODAY. 

The cruise lines that are coming to the DOJ's attention on the criminal enforcement side are in scope because something has "not gone well for them."

So with some progress and some missteps by cruise lines, it's a mixed bag in terms of how the industry as a whole is doing. 

The cruise industry says it's improving. But is it?

Salerno said that over the last decade, the cruise industry has focused on four areas to reduce cruising's environmental impact, including controlling emissions, sewage treatment, fuel efficiency and recycling. 

So are all these areas really evolving in terms of environmental impact? Yes and no, according to CLIA, the DOJ and FOE.

Controlling emissions

"In recent years there's been renewed emphasis placed on what is going into the air," Salerno said. 

That includes air pollutants such as sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems. The industry is beginning to control emissions by using an exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS). 

According to CLIA, those systems can reduce sulfur oxide levels by as much as 98% and can reduce nitrogen oxides up to 12%.

As of Jan. 1, the entire shipping world, which includes cruise ships, was required to reduce pollutants by using EGCS, using fuel with a lower sulfur level or using an alternative fuel source. 

But according to Kaltenstein, that isn't enough. 

The cruise industry is implementing ECGS to be compliant with regulations in the U.S. and on a global scale but instead of using more refined marine fuel, he says they're still using heavy fuel oil and just treating it, which isn't ideal. 

Some newer ships are being designed to operate on clean alternative fuels including liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has lower sulfur emissions, Salerno explained.

FOE doesn't see that as a silver bullet solution either. 

"Not going to see really any greenhouse gas benefits," said Kaltenstein. "A lot of the environmental community does not see LNG as an answer to the climate problem."

Sewage treatment

"While international law allows for discharge of untreated sewage beyond 12 miles [from the shore], CLIA’s Waste Management Policy prohibits the discharge of untreated sewage at sea anywhere around the world under normal operating conditions," Salerno said.

For those some 270 ships that are a part of the CLIA fleet, compliance with the policy is a condition for membership, he added.

Advanced wastewater treatment systems are installed on all new ships and many older ones, as well. They include advanced filtration and disinfecting technology that exceeds regulatory requirements put in place by the IMO.

"These advanced wastewater treatment systems rival the best systems on land," Salerno said. 

Kaltenstein said that in terms of waste, the industry has done better over the last several years. Putting in advanced wastewater treatment systems has been a good step forward.

Fuel efficiency 

Cruise lines have made their ships more fuel efficient by implementing a few different tactics, according to CLIA.

They have added air lubrication systems to many ship hulls, which reduce drag and fuel consumption. Those reductions lead to greater efficiency as do energy-efficient engines that consume less fuel. 

"Air lubrication systems are a good example of kinds of technology employed on many new ships to reduce fuel consumption," Salerno said. Not all ships have those systems in place yet though.

"When you consider most of them when they're built, you're looking at a 30-year life cycle," he explained. "It pays to put in the most efficient systems that you can. Doing that allows the ship to operate into the future without having to undergo major retrofits. The more efficient you can start out, the better off you are."

Shoreside, ships are also able to "plug in" at ports, which reduces emissions overall.

Like some hotels onshore , cruises have been doing what they can to reduce single-use plastics. 

"Many cruise lines have adopted policies against the use of single-use plastic," Salerno said. 

One of those lines is Norwegian Cruise Line . It announced last year that it would eliminate single-use plastics in 2020 by partnering with rapper, actor and activist Jaden Smith's JUST Goods Inc. to use paper cartons for water.

The cruise line previously got rid of single-use plastic straws in 2018 across its private islands and resort as well as its 16 ships.

And according to the Miami Herald , Royal Caribbean was looking to replace its more than 65 million plastic utensils with compostable options, along with other reusable options.

Carnival has also said it will take steps to reduce plastic use onboard by stopping balloon drops, using reusable straws and other steps.

Kaltenstein said he believes that the progress away from single-use plastics is a positive step forward for the industry.

"I think to not provision as much in terms of plastic is important; I'd like to see it all be done away with," he said.

One of the issues with plastics, Kaltenstein said, is that the systems for controlling plastic, to make sure it doesn't end up in the ocean, have been breaking down.

"The less you have, the lesser possibility of the materials going into the ocean, one would hope," he explained.

What needs to change?

From the outside looking in, Poux from the DOJ, said it's the corporate culture that needs to change.

Having a judge explain to corporate officers why what is happening on ships with waste is a problem is a "wake-up call" that can "bring in meaningful change," Poux said.

"These are systemic problems," Kaltenstein added. "The only way to address it is to change the corporate culture from the top, to set a mandate."

If a high importance is placed on environmental compliance and making sure that systems are being maintained and used properly to allow the ships to meet standards, then a change is more likely to occur, he added. 

MoreUshuaia, Argentina: Cruising to the 'end of the world' and Earth's southernmost city

Cruises: What is wave season? And are these early-season deals really worth it?

Contributing: Adrienne Jordan, David Oliver

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Home > Books > Tourism

Tourism Impact on Environmental Sustainability: A Focus on the Cruise Industry

Submitted: 29 June 2020 Reviewed: 07 September 2020 Published: 06 October 2021

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.93922

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The growth of the Global Economy and in particular the Caribbean Islands has been for the last two decades fueled by the cruise shipping industry. However, the growth in this industry gives rise to the expansion in ship size and the number of destinations. Unfortunately, the cruise line industry is responsible for the largest volume of waste, pollutants and destruction to marine lives when compared to other maritime industry sector. This chapter seeks to highlight the correlation between the industry and the growing global need for vibrant economies, a high quality of life, while protecting the environment and sustaining the world’s natural resources. A review of several literature has shown that within the last twenty years, the cruise lines have invested a lot of time and money correcting the negative environmental impacts created. Several proactive and green shipping initiatives designed to improve environmental management were successfully implemented by the industry. These diverse initiatives are group as follows: Research and Innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Marketing, Awareness raising/environmental education initiative, and Green technologies. Emanating from these initiatives are: reduce or obviate of harmful environmental emissions and environmental management improvements and ultimately an environment that is experiencing an increased level of sustainability and economic activities.

• green technologies
• global economy
• environmental management
• dynamic positioning

Author Information

Kirkland robert anderson *.

• Economics, Management and Finance, Caribbean Maritime University, Kingston Jamaica, West Indies

*Address all correspondence to: [email protected]

1. Introduction

1.1 overview of the cruise industry.

The Cruise Shipping Industry has evolved tremendously over the years. It experienced changes - from the era of transoceanic transportation and tropical vacations for the wealthy, privileged elites of society only, to the multimillion tourism and leisure industry today, offering affordable vacation options and comfort to match the average citizen. With the increasing growth of the cruise industry comes the expansion in ship sizes and the variety of destinations to meet the demand of customers. As such, the grandeur of the destinations, and their natural beauty are critical to the increasing demand. The cruise industry is definitely linked to environmental performance and compliance. However, studies show that the cruise line industry generates significantly more volume of waste and pollutants than any other maritime industry sector. The industry carries thousands of people around the world in just a single voyage and these people generate a lot of sewage, gray water, oily bilge water, solid and hazardous waste. Unfortunately, the waste is hazardous to the fragile marine environment. Even the least harmful substance can damage the flora and fauna in its surrounding [ 1 ].

With the high level of waste and pollution that is produced, comes the need to implement methods of sustaining the industry’s environment. The central notion of sustainability is that the goals of environmental preservation and the goals of business need not be disparate and conflicting. Throughout its history, the cruise industry has responded to vacation desires of its guests and embraced innovation to develop new destinations, new ship designs, new and diverse onboard amenities, facilities and services, plus wide-ranging shore side activities. Cruise lines have also offered their guests new cruise themes and voyage lengths to meet the changing vacation patterns of today’s travelers [ 2 ].

Shipping is indeed the most significant international transport substructure in the world. It fuels the Global Economy and helps in the development countries. The cruise industry has grown significantly over the last two decades . “In fact, between 2012 and 2017, it grew by 20.5 per cent with 2017 been a record breaking year of 25.8 million global ocean cruise passengers a 4.5 per cent increase over 2016, which had a record high of 24.7 million. This growth in cruise passengers results in both Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) member cruise lines added nearly 22,000 lower berths through six new ocean-going vessels in 2017.” Growth in the industry continues through exciting features, a more personalized guest experience, customizable onboard technologies, media initiatives including even television shows and movies to display what cruising offers [ 2 ].

2. Marine environment: international laws and conventions that governs its protection

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the world most influential organization on the prevention and control of marine pollution. IMO is guided by international conventions, protocols, guidelines and recommendations such as the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), and its annexes. Although, the International Maritime Organization does not have a set of regulations for cruise vessels, it provides requirements for ships, which have also become applicable to cruise vessels [ 3 ].

Annex I prevention of pollution by oil & oily water

Annex II control of pollution by noxious liquid substances in bulk

Annex III prevention of pollution by harmful substances carried by sea in packaged form

Annex IV pollution by sewage from ships

Annex V pollution by garbage from ships

Annex VI Prevention of air pollution from ships.

Sewages is defined by MARPOL 73/78 “as any drainage and other wastes from any form of toilets and urinals, drainage from medical premises (dispensary, sick bay, etc.) via wash basins, wash tubs and scuppers located in such premises” [ 4 ]. Sewage is known to contain harmful viruses, bacteria and pathogens, all of which are harmful to the well-being of human beings. Sewage is rich in nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which helps algal to grow much faster. The growth in algal reduces oxygen in the water and cause eutrophication which kills fishes and destroys the aquatic life at sea. In most cases of enclosed or semi-enclosed seas where the water exchange rate is slow and the discharge amount of sewage is high, the eutrophication is faster and harmful to the marine life [ 4 ].

MARPOL Annex IV regulates the discharge of sewage. Except in situations where the ship is at a minimum distance from the nearest land, or has in operation an approved sewage treatment. Furthermore, the discharge rule does not apply when ships are under the jurisdiction of a state which has less stringent discharge requirements [ 3 ]. MARPOL 73/78 has prohibited the disposal of Annex V (pollution by garbage from ships) within the Caribbean waters due to the fact that it consists of a sensitive ecosystem and heavy maritime traffic.

The cruise lines also emit ‘Gray Water’. This includes “drainage from shower, dishwasher, washbasin drains, bath and laundry. However, drainage from toilets, and urinals are excluded. Gray Water contains a mixed composition of different components such as; detergents, oil and grease, metals, organics, petroleum hydrocarbons, food waste, nutrients, fecal coliform bacteria and medical, dental waste. Gray Water represents ninety per cent (90%) of the total liquid waste generated by cruise ships [ 5 ]. Because of its high level of faucal coliform bacteria, and the oxygen-demanding materials, Gray water is dangerous for human and marine life [ 5 ].

MARPOL Annex V regulates the discharge of gray water and provides separate provisions for ‘Special Areas’. Solid waste disposal by cruise vessels has also been an issue, one that needs to be properly censored. Daily operations of the cruise ship generate solid waste in the form of packaging materials, food waste, transportation and storage products. Some solid waste can be recycled while others are non-recyclable. This can be very dangerous to marine life if they become marine debris. It will result in an alteration to the composition of the ecosystems, interference to gas exchange between overlying waters and benthos, degradation of quality at surface waters and beaches, physical injuries to humans and the ingestion of particles by marine animals [ 6 ].

MARPOL implements regulations for garbage disposals in order to mitigate gray water pollution and to achieve sustainability. One such regulation stipulates that ships of less than 400 gross tonnages should make entry of procedures in either the Garbage Record Book, or in the ship’s official log-book [ 5 ].

Finally, Annex III of the MARPOL convention elaborates on the Prevention of Pollution by harmful substances carried by sea in packaged form. This Annex makes provisions for the issuing of detailed standards on packing, marking, labelling, documentation, stowage, quantity limitations, exceptions and notifications. Annex 111, defines harmful substances “as those which are identified as marine pollutants in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code), or which meet the criteria in the Appendix of Annex III.” Hazardous substances are said to be corrosive and toxic. These are produced from activities such as dry cleaning, equipment cleaning and photo processing. Other hazardous waste can result from paint waste, crushing of aerosol can, incinerator ash, batteries, pharmaceuticals and used fluorescent and mercury vapor light bulbs [ 7 ].

It is through the executions of these conventions that all vessels, including cruise ships will perform their daily operations keeping in mind that the marine environment is of utmost importance. Adhering to the rules and requirements of these conventions, environmental sustainability can be achieved and maintained [ 7 ].

2.1 Theoretical framework on sustainability

The International Maritime Organization, outlines sustainable development as a form of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It further states that, “it contains two key concepts: the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.”

Theories of sustainability attempted to prioritize and integrate social responses to cultural and environmental problems. There are different theories of sustainability, each prioritizing its own component of what must be sustained. The ecological model of the sustainability framework is essential to this literature, henceforth, this model alludes to biological diversity and ecological integrity [ 3 ].

Sustainability covers largely the environmental dimension of the triple bottom line (social, environmental and economics). On the one hand, some forms of environmental degradation are both relatively easily reversed and highly noxious in the present (many forms of air and water pollution) (Baker, 2016) [ 8 ]. It is a process that helps create a vibrant economy and a high quality of life, while respecting the need to sustain natural resources and protect the environment. It is based on the principle that future generations should live in a world that the present generation has enjoyed, but not diminished [ 9 ]. Ecological models propose means to sustain biological diversity and ecological integrity. Rather than focusing on opportunity or capital as the key unit of sustainability, they focus directly on the health of the world. There are two major ways of deciding which ecological goods to sustain. From an anthropocentric point of view essential natural resources should be sustained, as should those ecological systems and regenerative processes on which human systems rely. From an eccentric point of view, species should be sustained for their intrinsic value, as should ecological systems as generators of creatures with intrinsic value [ 10 ].

2.2 The importance of the cruise industry to the local economy

Since the last two decades, the Caribbean Region has been one of the most favored cruise destination. It accounts for more than a thirty- five per cent (35.4%) of the global deployment capacity market share. The region’s yields and ticket pricing continue to increase respectively, aided by a strong United States economy and consumer sentiment.

spending by cruise passengers and crew;

the shore side staffing by the cruise lines for their headquarters, marketing and tour operations

expenditures by the cruise lines for goods and services necessary for cruise operations;

spending by the cruise lines for port services;

expenditures by cruise lines for maintenance.

“During the 2011/2012 period cruise ship calls brought 15.44 million passenger visits and 2.7 million crew to the thirty -five participating destinations, which generated revenue of US $1.48 billion and US$261.9 million in spending respectively. In addition, cruise-related expenditures generated directly 45, 225 jobs throughout the studied destinations. Cruise generated jobs paid US$728.1 million in wage income to the residents. There is also increased job opportunities in areas indirectly related to tourism, due to the provision of new facilities. Local shops are replaced by new ones. the interactions between residents and cruise passengers results in the exchange of culture, it offers the residents the possibility of learning about the world, and explore new life perspectives ” [ 12 ].

Records demonstrated a substantial increase in all the above data during the 2014/2015 financial period. “ Cruise ship calls brought 23.63 million passenger visits and 4.5 million crew to the thirty -five participating destinations, which generated revenue of US $3.16 billion and US$302.2 million in spending respectively. Cruise-related expenditures generated directly 75, 050 jobs throughout the studied destinations. Cruise generated jobs paid US$976.5 million in wage income to the residents” [ 13 ].

In addition, tourism of which the cruise shipping industry is a large part has been found to be a significant driver in the creation of positive environmental externalities such as environmental care and the protection of nature [ 14 ].

2.3 Negative impacts of the cruise industry on the local environment

The previous section highlights the economic merits of the cruise lines to regional and global economies. However, it is worth reiterating that literature documents that the industry is most damaging to the marine environment. Impacts on the environment ranges from the construction of the port infrastructure to its operation [ 15 ]. Activities having the greatest impact on the marine environment include: discharge of ballast water; dredging and the disposal of dredged waste (spoil); physical damage to marine habitats by ships’ hulls (e.g. grounding); use of antifouling paints; noise emissions; disposal of waste materials and sewage; oil spills from routine activities or accidental incidents [ 16 ].

In order to facilitate the Royal Caribbean’s new mega-ships at the Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier, Jamaica, some thirty-five million (35,000,000) cubic feet of coral reef, and two square miles of mangroves was buried under the now pulverized reef material. Additionally, in order to accommodate the mega ships, the developers had to create a twenty chain-wide opening in an offshore barrier reef. Both living and dead coral were dredged, along with the rock substrate, after which the materials were taken inland by trucks to a two-square-mile dump site; situated on the outskirts of town that was once a thriving red mangrove swamp, to the demise of marine life [ 17 ].

Dredging is a port operations activity carried out so as to construct or maintain harbors, docks and channels. Dredged materials, or spoils, are either uncontaminated, if materials are dredged in areas remote from pollution sources, or contaminated if material is dredged from urbanized or industrial harbor in which there are heavy metals and a variety of organic compounds. The dredged materials are disposed of in one of three ways: on land; at or near the dredged site; or at sea. Therefore, there is no doubt that the impacts of dredging can affect the environments of both the port and ocean. The potential impacts of dredging include: “smothering seabed organisms; clogging fish and invertebrates’ gills; reducing the light available to plants; releasing nutrients and toxic trace metals from contaminated sediments; bio accumulating toxins from contaminated material in organisms and possibly the food chain; depleting dissolved oxygen in the water column; and reducing water quality” [ 18 ].

Interestingly, it is said that even the enduring boom of the industry has a negative impact on the environment of the cruises themselves. The more people that go on a cruise, the more ships will be sailing on the seven seas, thus generating even more waste, and causing more damage. The cruise ships carry large numbers of humans, and this generates significant piles of waste for which there is not much space. The regulation of waste disposal at sea is limited, partly because the cruise industry is not subject to the same environmental standards as land based industries and because it is hard to control or enforce [ 19 ].

The average cruise ship produces the following immense amount of pollution every day : “25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets; 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys and showers; 7 tons of garbage and solid waste; 15 gallons of toxic chemicals; and 7,000 gallons of oily bilge water. These wastes, if not properly treated and disposed of, can be a significant source of pathogens, nutrients, and toxic substances with the potential to threaten human health and damage aquatic life. One simple example of the pervasive nature of this pollution is that a plastic bottle thrown overboard may take up to 400 years to break down, and during that time such pollution can move great distances and cause negative impact to marine life” [ 20 , 21 ].

Ballast water is critical to the safe and efficient operation of shipping, it provides balance and stability for the ships. The disposal of this water, pose a risk to the marine ecosystems as it results in the introduction of new marine species in other parts of the world. For example, in the 1980s, the disposal of ballast water in the Black Sea resulted in the introduction of new species such as zooplankton and fish-egg feeding comb jellyfish. Since then there has been dramatic changes in the pelagic system of the Black Sea, which impacted in a significant way the food chain, resulting in the collapse of commercial anchovy fisheries. The introduction of exotic marine species to the local marine environment, and the translocations of existing marine pests to new locations are major hazards associated with the discharge of contaminated ballast water. The establishment of exotic species can result in the alteration of an entire ecosystems and habitat and the extinction of indigenous species by predation or competition [ 22 ].

Cruise ships are insulated on the inside for noise and vibration. Unfortunately, there is no insulation on the outside, thus disrupting the communication and sonar of sea mammals. Research shows that the noise produced by ships can travel long distances, and marine species who may rely on sound for their orientation, communication, and feeding can be harmed by what is called sound pollution. Furthermore, wildlife collisions marine mammals, such as whales and manatees, risk being struck by ships, causing injury and death. “ For example, if a ship is travelling at a speed of only 15 knots, there is a 79 per cent chance of a collision being lethal to a whale ” [ 16 ].

A ship generally has a damaging impact on the oceans and its sea life. Ninety (90) countries worldwide have reported severe damage to their coral reefs due to anchorage, and sewage disposal. “ An anchor drop for just one day can destroy as much as 3100 square meters of coral reef. No doubt, it is extremely, necessary to maintain comfort and profit, while simultaneously decrease harm to coral reef. The cruise line has also impacted the air quality of the environment due to the fact that shipping has traditionally relied on heavy diesel fuels which result in the emission of significant quantities of pollutants. A large percentage of ocean liners run on giant diesel engines; this equipment, along with smaller auxiliary engines, can emit dangerous levels of Sulfur dioxide.” By curbing these emissions millions of premature, air pollution-related deaths could be prevented by 2020. This means that all players must take appropriate steps to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases and adapt to the potential impacts of climate change [ 23 ]. The world two larges ships ( Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas) , have been touted by the Royal Caribbean International as environmentally friendly ships, yet they burn bunker fuel, which is the dirtiest and most dangerous fuel in the world. This is essentially a tar-like refinery by-product in which the non-combustible particles blacken the sky and pose a major health hazard to everyone within a hundred-mile radius [ 20 ]. In order to prevent the discharge of wastewater into the sea, governments or its agencies must enforce the guidelines for the discharging of waste by ships stopping at its ports as was outlined at the Ballast Water Management convention, adopted in 2004. A number of guidelines have been developed to facilitate the implementation of the Convention.

The Convention will require all ships to implement a Ballast Water and Sediments Management Plan. All ships will have to carry a Ballast Water Record Book and will be required to carry out ballast water management procedures to a given standard. Existing ships will be required to do the same, but after a phase-in period [ 3 ]. Additionally sustainable environment can be further enhanced if the appropriate government agencies enforce green practices in all operations relating to transport such as minimize consumption of non-renewable resources to the sustainable yield level, reuses and recycles its components [ 24 ].

2.4 Sustainable practices employed by the industry and its major cruise lines

Sustainability in the cruise industry is a result of making optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity. The Sea Trade Insider made it absolutely clear that sustainable transport is recognized as one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Whilst shipping is relatively safe and clean, compared with other transport modes, the industry does have a significant impact on the environment. Within the last few decades several proactive efforts to encourage environmental management improvements within the shipping industry were successfully implemented (Sea Trade Insider, 2010) [ 25 ]. These have been referred to as sustainable or green shipping initiatives, which are diverse, but can be grouped as follows:

Research and Innovation - these are initiatives which aim to reduce or eliminate harmful environmental emissions. It includes investments into research aim to develop new technological design for safer and more sustainable ships. R and I initiatives are divided into high and low investment for specific solutions, that could be applied to many ships in order to reduce their negative environmental impact.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Marketing – this area helps companies to integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.

Awareness raising/environmental education initiative- this aims at encouraging environmental management improvements across the sector. Nonetheless, Green cruising might seem like an oxymoron for an industry that some say pays little attention to the natural resources that fuel its success, but it is indeed the path to achieve sustainability [ 25 ].

Green technologies such as solar panels, exhaust scrubber systems that help minimize emissions, advances in hull design that let ships cut through the water more efficiently, cooking oil conversion systems and energy efficient appliances are being incorporated into newly built ships and are also retrofitted into older ones. It is further explained that some cruise lines also collaborate with nonprofit organizations and government agencies to collect data about the ocean’s health and climate changes. Cruise lines continue to make important strides to improve their environmental policies. Some lines do so more extensively than others. Whereas, recycling, incinerating and waste-processing were cutting edge on cruise ships just over a decade ago, such processes today are basic and expected. The Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean, for example, are some of the most popular lines that make attempts in achieving sustainability [ 25 ].

The carnival cruise line has made steps in achieving sustainability, by offloads a multitude of materials (plastic, glass, aluminum, scrap metal, cooking oil, petroleum oil, toner cartridges, electronics, refrigerants and photo processing liquids) from its ships for disposal on land. Ships process and incinerate solid waste onboard whenever possible or send it to an approved shore side facility for treatment, recycling or disposal. Even oily bilge water is subjected to its own three-step engineering process. Furniture, linens, small appliances, kitchenware and clothing are some of the two dozen items donated to charities instead of sent to landfills [ 24 ]. There has also been a shift in the cruise line usage of eco-friendly detergents for its linens and dry cleaning, and developing a new, energy-efficient and non-polluting engine for its newer ships. The larger Carnival Corporation (which incorporates Carnival Cruise Line along with brands like Holland America and Princess) has installed exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) technology on 60 ships in its fleet as early as 2017; more than 85 vessels will be outfitted with EGCS by 2020. This exhaust gas cleaning technology utilizes a proprietary technology to remove the oxide of sulfur that come from combustion of fuels that have sulfur, is a win for the environment and a win for the company and the environment [ 25 ].

Carnival Cruise lines established a Health, Environment, Safety, Security & Sustainability Policy & Governance (HESSS). This policy drives the cruise lines commitment to environmental protection. Like other critical business matters in the cruise industry, assigning this policy and governance is of top priority to the cruise lines. Fuel is the primary source of energy consumed for ship propulsion and generation of on-board hotel power. “ As such Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration and Carnival Miracle use shore-power technologies while in port in Long Beach, California. By connecting to the Port’s electrical grid, air emissions are managed and regulated under the emission control requirements at the power plant supplying it. Unfortunately to date only five ports worldwide are currently utilizing this practice and there are an additional three ports with shore power projects under construction ” [ 26 ].

In additional to onboard policies employed by the cruise line, crew members also undertake various sustainability initiatives. Carnival Cruise Line employees regularly attend training sessions relating to waste management while on board. In collaboration with the International Sea Keepers Society, Carnival Cruise has installed scientific devices on four of its ships mainly; Legend, Miracle, Spirit and Triumph). The aim of these devices is to monitor ocean water quality and other climatic information. The data generated by this practice are shared via satellite with Environmental groups, various governmental agencies and universities worldwide. The data provided by the cruise line are analyze by the various recipients in order to determine; ocean pollution, climate change and weather patterns. Carnival Vista is the cruise line’s first ship to receive the ECO Notation designation from the maritime classification society Lloyd’s Register, which recognizes that the Vista exceeds current maritime environmental regulations. Sustainability efforts have also been extended to the passengers. The cruise line participates in beach cleanups and other community programs through its affiliation with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association [ 25 ]. Specially marked containers are placed strategically throughout each ship in the fleet in order to encourage recycling by cruisers. These designated bins are located in areas such as; steward stations, galley, crew areas, room service, pantries and bar pantries in order to collect items of food, glass, aluminum and plastic products [ 26 , 27 ].

“Disney Cruise Lines processed more than 1,900 tons of metal, glass, plastic and paper for recycling or reuse since 2014. All of the recyclables are separated and made ready for unloading in the ships garbage room. The Cruise Line used cooking oil from the galley which has been collected in special containers each week; and whenever the ship arrives in ports, the oil is taken to the backstage area and mixed, then used as fuel for small vehicles in the respective islands.” One hundred per cent of used cooking oil is offloaded and recycled each week, some of which is used to create biodiesel fuel for a fleet of vehicles in the Bahamas [ 25 ]. Other initiatives focus on energy, water-saving efforts and fuel efficiency [ 15 ]. Excess heat from power generators is rerouted to power evaporators that help turn seawater into drinkable water. Even the condensation from air-conditioning units is reclaimed and reused to wash the decks, saving more than thirty million gallons of freshwater each year. On Castaway Cay, which is a private Bahamian island owned by Disney, solar panels are used to heat water for their crew members residing there. The ships are also equipped to plug into shore power, whenever it’s available in port [ 25 ]. Results depict that the utilization of renewable energy in logistics operations will reduce emissions, improve; the health of citizens, environment and economic growth [ 28 ].

All four ships used the service of onboard environmental officers who oversee shipboard recycling and waste minimization efforts. The officers also supervise shipboard environmental safety programs for crew. Furthermore, Disney encourages cruisers to help conserve water and energy by reusing bath towels, and to recycle with marked bins provided in staterooms and on deck. The line also shows a “Behind the Waves” video series that educates passengers on the line’s various environmental practices and ways in which they can assist in helping those efforts during their voyage [ 24 ]. Passengers and crew members are asked to support the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, which provides support for the study of wildlife, protection of habitats, development of community conservation and education programs in critical global ecosystems. Additionally, the fund provides special grants to connect children with nature. The fund has raised an amount exceeding US$45 million, which was used to support more than 330 nonprofit organizations in 115 countries worldwide [ 26 , 27 ].

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has improved substantially its environmental performance. “They qualified for both ISO14001 and ISO9001 certification, which established an environmental management plan. Ships also have environmental managers aboard and environmental training for all staff, requiring them to be able to explain the environmental policies to all guests” [ 26 ]. The cruise line is currently using Dynamic Positioning on two of its vessels ( Oasis of the Sea, and Allure of the Sea ), which is a new alternative for anchors. Oasis of the Seas, which can accommodate 5400 passengers is powered by liquefied natural gas fueled engines. These engines are equipped with pollution scrubbers that completely eliminate all Sulfur emissions, cut nitrogen oxide emissions and CO2 by more than 20%. It is one of the first cruise ship to have a large tropical park filled with thousands of plants and natural features [ 27 ].

The Royal Caribbean Cruises family, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara participate in an above and beyond compliance policy, geared toward optimized environmental practices. This includes the Save the Waves Program, which, at its core, employs an advanced wastewater purification system that treats wastewater onboard to levels that regularly exceed international standards. The company recently introduced a line of designated sustainable shore excursions, in partnership with Sustainable Travel International, which highlight outings that emphasize destination stewardship and sustainable tourism [ 24 , 25 ]. Over the past five years, the major cruise lines have spent an average of US$2 million dollars per ship in order to upgrade vessels with better systems for dealing with waste management and emissions. Decades ago, the cruise industry paid very little attention to the environment. Today cruise lines have made a 180 degree turn. They are now spending large amounts of time and money cleaning up their act, and in essence are helping to bring sustainable practices to a wider group of players in the travel industry [ 27 , 29 ].

3. Conclusion

The International Maritime Organization – is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships (IMO)

The Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty (UNCLOS)

The international treaty for the prevention of pollution from ships, 1973, as modified in 1978 (MARPOL 73/78)

In the final analysis, this chapter gives a clearer understanding as to how the cruise shipping industry impact environmental sustainability. However, this chapter is limited to the fact that a larger per cent of the information garnered is over five years old. It is therefore, the desire of the researcher to pursue future studies in the area by the analysis of primary data. The outcomes of such study will assist policy/decision makers both public and private to establish and implement plans that will environmental sustainability a concern of the past.

Acknowledgments

I would like to say thanks to God Almighty for His physical and Spiritual strength. Thanks to my wife Juliet and daughter Kristen for their continuous support and to my final year students who assisted me with information.

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© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Cruise Ships and Sustainability

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The global popularity of cruise holidays grows in parallel with the size of the ships, and so does the magnitude of their impact on the environment, the social equity, and the local economy. The sustainability of cruise ships has increasingly been in the eye of the media and the society, thus putting pressure on the industry. Indeed, cruise line companies are demonstrating more effort in reducing their environmental footprint in the last decade. However, many of them are limited to meeting international regulations, which is a reactive rather than a proactive approach to ensuring the sustainability of the industry in the long run. The lack of commonly accepted and operationalized sustainability criteria for assessing the social and economic impacts of cruise ships has resulted in loosely defined actions in these aspects. The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of the environmental, social, and economic challenges associated with cruise ships’ sustainability, discuss how they are tackled by the industry nowadays, and offer guidance on how to address them through the adoption of innovative sustainable business practices, backed with commitment, collaboration, and transparency.

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Buzova, D. (2022). Cruise Ships and Sustainability. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38948-2_131-1

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The environmental impact of cruise ships.

The impact of cruise ships on the environment is an important issue that needs to be addressed in order to mitigate damage to the surrounding ecosystem. Cruise ships generate significant quantities of wastes that the industry disposes of with surprisingly little regulation. For example, the cruise ship industry is not subject to the same environmental standards as land-based industries. Furthermore, where there is regulation, there is often marginal enforcement. Due to the concentration of cruise ships in a small number of environmentally sensitive areas, the potential environmental impacts of the industry are intensified. As the size of the cruise ship industry increases, the need to regulate the environmental effects of cruise ships is becoming more urgent. The cruise ship industry is very large and is rapidly expanding. In 1998, more than 223 cruise ships worldwide carried an estimated 9.5 million passengers. Many of these cruise ships are the size of small cities. Between 2002 and 2005, cruise ship companies plan to add 51 more ships to the fleet, many of which are larger than any existing cruise ships. As the size of the cruise ship industry increases, so does the industry's potential for causing adverse environmental impacts. The first section of this paper provides an introduction to the cruise industry and a description of the different waste streams generated daily by a typical cruise ship. It also describes the consequences of pollution on the environment. The next section discusses current regulations and their efficiency in regulating waste streams. The next section addresses the actions being taken to mitigate the environmental impact of cruise ships and provides an assessment of the effectiveness of these actions. Finally, the last section provides recommendations on future actions needed to reduce adverse environmental burdens and impacts arising from cruise ship operations.

cruise ship waste streams, enforcement, environmental regulation

Commoy, Juliette, Catherine Polytika, Rebecca Nadel and Jonathan W. Bulkley. 2005. The Environmental Impact of Cruise Ships.” Proceedings of the World Water Congress: Impacts of Global Climate Change, Anchorage, AK (May 15-19, 2005): 173, 308.

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Roundtable: how can cruise lines reduce their environmental impact?

A return to sailing will give cruise operators to make their operations greener and more sustainable. In this roundtable, we reach out to industry experts to ask their opinion on what cruise lines can do to reduce their environmental impact.

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The biggest cruise ships are effectively floating settlements, offering more entertainment, food and accommodation than ever before. Unfortunately, this ‘go big or go home’ mentality has sometimes pushed the industry into hot water, particularly with regards to its environmental impact.

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This year, cruise lines need to get passengers back on board. It needs to make cruise a necessity for people who’ve been living without it. A survey in our office highlighted that most millennials want cruise companies to be held more accountable for their emissions. As cruise prepares to exit its scariest period ever, will operators step up to the plate?

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To find out what steps the cruise industry needs to take, we gathered experts from both sides of the debate to ask a simple question: how can cruise lines reduce their environmental impact once sailing resumes?

Please note: experts’ opinions DO NOT represent the views of Future Cruise or any other expert included in this roundtable.  

Dan Hubbell, shipping emissions campaign manager at Ocean Conservancy

Cruise lines have a duty to their customers and the environment to reduce their impact post-pandemic and sailing can resume safely. Switching to truly green fuels like hydrogen or ammonia as they become available, rather than climate-damaging options like LNG, would dramatically reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.

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Scrubbers are another area where cruises should steer clear on, or at a minimum look to fully closed-loop systems that store rather than open-loop ones that discharge scrubber effluent back into the ocean.

Finally, treating both sewage and greywater with properly functioning advanced water treatment systems should be a priority. Cruises take their passengers to some of the most beautiful places on earth, and when sailing resumes those aboard will feel better knowing they’re leaving nothing behind when they travel on.

Brian Salerno, senior vice president of maritime policy, Cruise Lines International Association

CLIA and our cruise line members are passionate about clean oceans and are committed to responsible tourism practices and environmental stewardship.

While cruise lines comprise far less than 1% of the global maritime community, the cruise industry works every day to advance its responsible tourism efforts . While much progress has been made , the cruise industry recognizes that continued and greater investment in research and development is critical in order to achieve the ultimate objective of zero carbon emissions across the global maritime fleet.

Last year, CLIA joined an array of partner associations in the maritime sector to put forth a proposal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to fund and establish a $5 billion Research and Development Board dedicated to working collaboratively across the maritime sector to identify—and in some cases, develop—the technologies and energy sources that will enable the cruise industry to pursue solutions that do not yet exist.

All of this is to say, even as cruise lines have worked to address the Covid-19 pandemic , the industry has remained focused on its commitment to preserving the air and oceans in which the industry operates. With over $23bn invested in ships with new technologies and cleaner fuels, substantial progress has been achieved and our cruise line members will continue to work diligently to meet rising expectations.

Cruising is one of the best ways to experience the world and CLIA and our cruise line members look forward to welcoming passengers back.

Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer, Carnival Corporation

At Carnival Corporation , our highest responsibility and top priorities are compliance, environmental protection and the health, safety and well-being of our guests, the people in the communities we visit, and our shipboard and shoreside employees. On this foundation, our company and nine global cruise line brands are committed to continuously enhancing our operations and environmental progress.

As an industry, we continue to work together on our shared commitment to reducing the global cruise fleet’s rate of carbon emissions by 40% over the next 10 years. At Carnival Corporation, we are committed to doing our part to achieve that goal while sharing in the International Maritime Organization’s vision for a carbon-free shipping industry.

We recently achieved key sustainability targets for the company and committed to new far-reaching goals that will carry us well beyond as we continue to support our environmental priorities with concrete actions and improvements.

This includes launching the world’s first cruise ships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the marine industry’s most advanced fuel technology; adding high-tech electrical shore power capabilities; expanded use of onboard Advanced Waste Water Treatment Systems; food waste bio-digester technology; and Advanced Air Quality Systems. We also have extensive initiatives already underway to significantly reduce single-use plastics and food waste on board our ships, and we are pursuing new sustainable solutions to power cruise ships to further reduce our environmental footprint, such as battery power storage systems and advanced fuel cell technology.

As we look toward the future, we will continue to work closely with the communities we visit, investing in new emerging technologies and initiatives to ensure sustainability is ingrained in all aspects of our business as we work towards achieving zero emissions over time while providing travellers with the world’s best vacation experience

Eamonn Ferrin, Norwegian Cruise Line VP and managing director, UK & Ireland

Sustainability has always been a cornerstone of our business at Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and will remain a key pillar as we look to amplify and innovate our practices and offering in the next years.

For instance, we established a dedicated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) department in 2020 to enhance our Sail & Sustain Environmental Programme’s reach and impact. Offering support of key environmental initiatives, the ESG team ensures the coordination of our environmental agenda between departments as diverse as health, medical and safety to human resources, legal and even our supply chain.

As part of our Sail & Sustain programme, we are striving to minimise waste sent to landfill, reduce CO 2 emissions, increase the use of sustainably sourced goods, and invest in emerging environmental technologies. As a result of our continuous efforts, the CDP, a global environmental non-profit that evaluates 9,600 companies worldwide annually, recently recognised us with a ‘B’ climate change score – improving on the previous year and higher than the Marine Transport sector average of ‘C’.

This follows on from NCL becoming the first major global cruise line to eliminate single-use plastic bottles onboard our fleet and private destinations following a partnership with JUST Water via JUST® Goods, Inc at the start of 2020. In addition, we recently announced a partnership with the Port of Southampton for its’ new terminal which will feature both Shore Power and Roof-Mounted Solar Power to provide clean, green renewable energy and further strengthen our commitment to the sustainable future for the category.

Ross A Klein, PhD, international expert on cruise industry and cruise tourism and professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland

The most straightforward way to reduce environmental impacts is for the cruise industry to behave as it says it behaves. Recent court hearings following Carnival Corporation’s violation of its plea agreement/probation demonstrate with alarming clarity that the cruise corporation is not serious about the industry’s frequently repeated claim that they “meet or exceed all environmental regulations”.

A Court-Appointed Monitor found hundreds of environmental violations in Carnival’s first year on probation; Carnival Corporation admitted to six charges of violating probation and paid a $20m fine (above the $40m already paid). Violations continued into year two and year three. Transparency through a Court-Appointed Monitor doesn’t appear to be sufficient to “fix” the problem.

Cruise corporations consequently have a credibility problem. Behaving as they say they do would go a long way – something as simple as no discharges within twelve miles of the coastline. Augment this with no dumping solid waste at sea, (e.g. ground glass, cardboard and packing material, plastic), no discharges of hazardous chemicals or materials of unknown environmental impact (e.g., incinerator ash, sludge from smokestack scrubbers), and on all cruise ships have independent human monitors to observe and record all waste streams and discharges.

The cruise industry would argue this level of monitoring is unnecessary – that they can be trusted. This is undermined by their history of gaming the system and paying hundreds of millions in fines rather than spend the money on environmentally responsible systems.

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The High Environmental Costs of Cruise Ships

Cruise ships pose many environmental concerns, from waste disposal to toxic paint to the creation of noise that can harm marine life.

Cruise ships, which are often hundreds of feet long and carry thousands of passengers and crew, have been compared to floating cities. But all those people use resources and produce waste. A  $20 million fine levied on Carnival Cruises for improper waste disposal demonstrates that the industry is not above bending environmental rules. The fine was one of many environmental cases the industry has faced through the years. What is the environmental impact of a cruise ship?

While it can be tough to generalize, since the size, destination, and design of the ship all play a role, resource management expert Hrvoje Carić attempted to answer this question with a case study of cruise ships at a popular port in Croatia . Carić notes that the emissions are especially problematic. Most ships, not just cruise ships, use “bunker fuel” which burns far dirtier than automobile gasoline. Vast quantities of fuel are required to move the immense mass of a cruise ship, with commensurately huge emissions of CO2 as well as nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Carić estimates that the average CO2 emissions for a 3,000-passenger cruise ship is 1,200 kg/km, and trips can be thousands of kilometers long. The emissions dwarf those produced by cars.

Another significant impact comes from anti-fouling paint on the hull. According to Carić, the paint sheds toxic heavy metals into the ocean, which can then work their way into the marine food web. The problem is exacerbated when the ships are in port, where many ships at once introduce larger amounts of metals into shallower, partly-enclosed waters and heavy metals can build into higher concentrations.

Large ships also produce engine noise, a potential hazard to marine life, and can collide with marine mammals.

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Finally, waste discharge, the issue in the Carnival settlement, is a major problem. Cruise ships produce large quantities of sewage, bilge water, ballast water, water from sinks and drains, and solid waste. Most cruises expect their passengers to produce a lot of waste, up to forty liters of sewage and 340 liters of water from sinks, showers, and drains, per person, per day. According to Carić, this amount vastly exceeds average residential wastewater production. United States regulations require sewage treatment on cruise ships, so wastewater is not as harmful as it once was. And many nations have rules regarding offshore exchange of ballast water to prevent the spread of invasive species. But these rules are difficult to enforce outside a nation’s jurisdictional waters, and Carić believes that best practices aren’t always followed.

There are ways to reduce the impact these huge ships have on the environment, such a switching to cleaner-burning fuel. Cruise companies are aware of customers’ concerns, and there is some movement to limit plastic waste. But moving that many people is never going to be impact-free, and so far, fines do not seem to be a fool-proof deterrent.

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Viking Supports First Real Time Environmental DNA Sequencing On Ships

• May 22, 2024

Viking has advanced scientific research onboard its expedition fleet with the addition of real-time environmental DNA (eDNA) sequencing of phytoplankton, according to a press release.

This makes Viking the first travel company to support real-time environmental genetic sequencing capabilities onboard its ships.

With support from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the PCR lab on board the Viking Octantis has been converted into a scientific environment where visiting scientists contributing to the Genomics at Sea Program (GASP) monitor the environmental impact on phytoplankton without the need to transport samples to a shoreside facility.

The onboard advancements and participation in GASP are an extension of Viking’s collaboration with Fjord Phyto, a NASA-funded program that enables guests to participate in research and public education by sampling polar phytoplankton for genetic population analyses.

“Ever since we created Viking Expeditions, it has always been our intention to help facilitate meaningful scientific work,” said Karine Hagen, executive vice president of Viking. “As we continue our third year of operating expeditions, we are pleased that we have been able to achieve our goal alongside esteemed scientific partners. By repurposing a technology that kept our guests safe in the height of the pandemic to gain valuable insights into our environment, we are providing a critical research opportunity for all of our future expedition voyages.”

The conversion of the PCR lab onboard the Viking Octantis took place earlier this year while the ship was in Antarctica. The Viking Polaris will also be converted to support research efforts before both ships return to Antarctica later this year.

“We are excited about the significant scientific potential represented by this collaboration,” said Andrew Allen, a professor of marine biology at Scripps and JCVI. “Our ability to understand how ocean plankton communities respond to shifting conditions, resulting from both natural variation and human-influenced perturbation, is limited by sampling and observation. Through this work we will obtain a new and more comprehensive view of the genetic diversity of plankton, which will advance our ability to assess the biological response of the ocean to climate change and other stressors.”  

Photo: Scientists retrieving samples in Antarctica

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