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Why are cruises unsustainable?

Sewage and rubbish being dumped in the sea, air and water being polluted, whales being hit by cruise ships sailing too close to shore, invasive species being introduced by pumping ballast water.



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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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During a typical one-week voyage, a large cruise ship (with 3,000 passengers and crew) is estimated to generate 210,000 US gallons (790,000 L) of sewage; 1 million US gallons (3,800 m3) of graywater (wastewater from sinks, showers, and laundries); more than 130 US gallons (490 L) of hazardous wastes; 8 tons of solid ...

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Although the cruise industry unabashedly promotes itself as environmentally friend, the reality is that there is a long history of breaking the law, seeking all kinds of concessions and non-regulation by lobbying and local regulators; in addition to the progressive accumulation of hundreds of pollution violations, ...

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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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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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The most polluting cruise ships operator was MSC Cruises – whose cruise ships emitted nearly as much SOx as all the passenger vehicles in Europe. Accounting for all of its subsidiaries, the Carnival group polluted the most. Many cruise operators like MSC are investing in fossil gas (LNG) as a cleaner alternative.

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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 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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Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy are currently not being sent to ports where shoreside power is offered. However, all of Disney's ships burn fuel with a 0.1% sulfur content worldwide which is lower than what is required internationally, earning the company an A- in the air pollution reduction category.

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Fifteen ships earned failing scores last year, a figure that dwarfs the average failure rate of about two to four ships a year, a Miami Herald analysis of the CDC's historical inspection data found. The only year that comes close to 2017's all-time-high figure is 2013, with 10 failures.

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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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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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The food is blended with water until it's a smooth mixture and then either disposed of in port, incinerated, or pumped out to sea when the ship is deep water and away from the coastlines. Simple as that.

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The most obvious and climate-friendly solution is riding aboard a cargo ship, thousands of which cross the Atlantic each year.

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