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Can the highly polluting cruise industry find a way to decarbonize? Over half of cruise ships are powered by heavy fuel oil, making them one of the most environmentally polluting ways to travel, The Guardian reports. While cruise ships only account for 2% of the shipping industry, that number is growing, and the sector’s carbon dioxide emissions and methane emissions rose 17% and 500%, respectively, from 2019 to 2022, a Transport & Environment (T&E) study (pdf) found. Out of Europe’s top 20 worst-emitting ships, nine were the largest cruise liners, 10 were ferries, and only one was a cargo ship.
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Cruises are multiplying fast, and so is their carbon footprint: The sector is growing at rates that far exceed its rate of decarbonization. There are around 515 cruise ships today, up from 21 in the 1970s. Each 2% improvement in carbon intensity is also canceled out “many times over” by every 6-7% rise in passenger traffic, and the sector is projected for a 6% growth, a study (pdf) found.
Why the focus on cruises? Environmentalists are focusing on cruise ships because “they are close to people” and “spend, proportionately, more time in port than other ships, particularly in pristine and natural locations where the impact of pollution is greater,” says sustainable shipping officer at T&E Inesa Ulichina.
Some industry efforts: Norway-based Hurtigruten is aiming to launch the first emissions-free, electric cruise ship in 2030, but the need to expand charging infrastructure remains a major obstacle as well as sustaining long trips that would be difficult to see out with heavy batteries. France’s Selar is looking to power its Captain Arctic polar expedition ship using sun, water, and wind by 2026 with an “almost zero emissions” design. However, smaller companies tend to be doing better on decarbonization efforts rather than the larger vessels that cause 90% of the sector’s emissions.
Some think LNG is the answer: Royal Caribbean — which uses liquefied natural gas (LNG) in its 7.6k-passenger ship Icon of the Seas — described the fuel as the “cleanest burning marine fuel available” and plans to capitalize on it by launching two more LNG-powered ships in 2025 and 2027. Currently, only 6.7% of cruises — 19 ships — run on LNG, which will increase to 10% by 2028, the Guardian reports citing the Cruise Lines International Association. Over 15% will contain battery storage, and 15% will be able to run on methanol starting in 2025.
But not everyone agrees: Environmentalists warn that LNG ships can leak methane and may also lead to 120% more “life-cycle” emissions than marine oil, according to the director of the International Council on Clean Transportation Bryan Comer. Powering ships with LNG would be rather a “climate-destroying” move, warned Comer.
