How much CO2 does a cruise ship produce compared to cars?

Cruise ships can produce more carbon dioxide than 12,000 cars, scientists warn. EXETER, England — Cruises should be curbed until they undergo massive environmental regulations, after it was discovered just one ship can produce more carbon dioxide than 12,000 cars, scientists say.



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The report says that a mid-sized cruise ship can use as much as 150 tonnes of fuel each day, which emits as much particulate as one million cars. Is that right? That's correct. And the reason for this is that their engines run 24/7.

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Cruise ships, huge compared to other vessels, end up burning more heavy fuel oil, one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the market. This oil contains dangerous levels of sulfur and heavy metals etc. It is estimated that cruise ships use, on average, 150 tons of heavy fuel oil every day.

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Taking a seven-day cruise is more than three times as carbon-intensive as flying and staying abroad.

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Currently, cruise ships and other maritime vessels are responsible for nearly 3% of global greenhouse emissions each year. Considered to be worse than flying in terms of carbon emissions per passenger, a report by Pacific Standard revealed that a person's average carbon footprint triples in size while on a cruise.

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A June study from sustainable transport campaigner The European Federation for Transport and Environment found that 63 cruise ships owned by parent company Carnival Corporation emitted 43% more sulfur oxides, a group of harmful air pollutants, than all the 291 million cars in Europe in 2022.

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There is no longer any doubt that land-based vacations, even with plane and car travel, are overwhelmingly less polluting than getting on a cruise ship.

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Carrying more than 90% of the world's trade, ocean-going vessels produce just 3% of its greenhouse-gas emissions. But the industry is dirtier than that makes it sound. By burning heavy fuel oil, just 15 of the biggest ships emit more of the noxious oxides of nitrogen and sulphur than all the world's cars put together.

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Cruise ships are only permitted to release human wastewater that has been heavily treated. Solid waste is also treated and dehydrated but not released into any open body of water. Instead, it is disposed of through standard, onshore waste disposal methods once the cruise ship is in port.

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Whether it's disease spread, carbon emissions, wastewater pollution, noise impacts, trash, or thousands of tourists, the cumulative impact of cruising is overwhelming.

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