Cruise ship vacations are the fastest-growing sector in the travel industry having transported nearly 30 million passengers in 2019.
Cruises come with a cost to the environment, marine life, and coastal communities. According to a study in the Marine Pollution Bulletin, a cruise ship has a carbon footprint of 12,000 cars. Not only do cruise ships have a major impact on air pollution, but they also have a direct impact on water and land pollution, as well as affecting fragile habitats of marine species.
According to this study, some cruise ships venture into the most fragile marine habitats undermining the risk of affecting marine life. Some cruise lines have increased their carrying capacity to 1,250 passengers and upwards to 6,000 passengers with a 2,000-person crew. These are like floating cities traversing an already fragile ecosystem that is begging for our attention to preserve and protect.
Additionally, the U.S. government allows cruise ships to dump dirty water from sinks, showers, laundry processes and you guessed it, toilets three and a half miles from the shoreline. According to Friends of the Earth, more than a billion tons of sewage gets dumped each year into the ocean.
Not only is the ocean being inundated with this waste but also fuel waste gets dumped into the oceans. We know this is home to marine life who have no choice but to try to survive these filthy conditions we have created for them. Not to mention the sound pollution created by vessels that deeply impacts the way marine life searches for food, and call to their young, and mate.
And unfortunately, food waste is also dumped into the oceans. It is estimated that cruise ships create 30% of food waste that is put into an industrial grinder and sent out to sea. Some cruise ships tout this food waste is fish food when in reality it is not part of their diet.
The fragile marine life virtually has no protection against any of this pollution.
Friends of the Earth has created a Cruise Ship Report Card that determines if clean cruising is possible and the results show a resounding no. In 2022, none of the cruise ship lines received an overall grade higher than C+.
Most governments refuse to enact strong regulations against cruise ships which is unfortunate because of the damage being done to the oceans, climate, marine life, and our health.
In this ever-changing world where our actions have a major impact on the environment, if you are fortunate enough to travel, please reconsider other travel options than taking a cruise.
Photo courtesy of Reuters
References:
1. Palmer, C., 2022, July 27th. Cruise industry faces choppy seas as it tries to clean up its act on climate. www.reuters.com. https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/cruise-industry-faces-choppy-seas-it-tries-clean-up-its-act-climate-2022-07-27/
2. Josep Lloret, Arnau Carreño, Hrvoje Carić, Joan San, Lora E. Fleming., (2021),
Environmental and human health impacts of cruise tourism: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin. Volume 173, Part A.
3. Friends of the Earth. Cruise Ship Report Card. www.foe.org. https://foe.org/cruise-report-card/
