How polluting is the cruise industry?

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.



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Cruise Ship Pollution Although cruise ships make up only 1 percent of the global fleet, they account for 6 percent of black carbon (BC) emissions. This reveals how disproportionately bad for the environment cruise ships are, releasing the highest amount of black carbon per ship of any vessel.

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On average, a cruise ship generates 15 gallons of toxic chemicals each day. These materials come from on-board dry cleaning and photo-processing facilities, painting and other activities. Seven thousand gallons of oily bilge water are released into the oceans every time the ship empties its bilge tanks.

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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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Cruise ships emit more carbon per passenger kilometre than flying, even considering the extra damage that emissions cause at high altitude. It's thought that the Queen Mary II emits 0.43kg of CO2 per passenger mile – that's even worse than the 0.257kg for a long-haul flight.

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Do Cruise Ships Dump Sewage? Yes. To get into a few more specifics than above, the U.S. allows cruise ships to dump treated waste into the ocean if they are within three and a half miles from shore. Beyond that point, there are no restrictions for dumping untreated, raw sewage in U.S. ocean waters.

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Yes, many cruise ships dump plastic at sea. It's illegal according to U.S. and international maritime law, but many companies have proven they don't care, and have been caught illegally spewing plastic into the sea. Carnival Cruise Lines was found dumping food mixed with plastic waste into the waters of the Bahamas.

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In addition to sulphur oxides, cruise ships emit other dangerous pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and PM2. 5 particulate matter.

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Using the associated calculated climate factor of 2.1 (for a 2,000-3,000 passenger ship), we estimate that one individual on a 7-day cruise will have a carbon footprint of 300kg per day if that individual stays in a standard double-occupancy cabin.

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Yes, cruise ships have brigs, which is the nautical term for a jail on a vessel, including a cruise ship. The term comes from the word brigantine, which is a type of two-masted sailing ship formerly used to house criminals.

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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 ...

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A painfully obvious ship assumption Well, you're not. Larger ships do tend to impact the environment more than smaller ships, especially passenger-packed cruise ships – though obviously there are many exceptions, which we'll address later.

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“Cruising is less stressful and also means you do not lose time commuting and travelling to a destination as you will be eating, watching shows, drinking with friends and sleeping in comfort as the ship takes you to the next destination. It is a more efficient and enjoyable use of your time.”

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