The innovative, but still polluting, cruise industry

After a few difficult years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cruise passengers on the St. Lawrence River has almost returned to 2019 levels, with nearly 400,000 passenger days this year. This number could reach historic highs starting next year.

As general director of the St. Lawrence Cruise Association, René Trépanier promotes Quebec to international cruise companies. Currently, nine towns and villages welcome cruise ships in the St. Lawrence and the economic benefits for Quebec are estimated at $700 million per year, he explains.

Except that these visits are not made without repercussions on the environment.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the effect of cruise ships on air quality, due to the pollution produced by marine fuel oils. A medium-sized ship, that is to say with around 3,000 passengers on board, would emit, every day, the equivalent of a million cars in fine particles.

Another study concluded that the 218 ocean liners that sailed in Europe last year emitted four times more sulfur oxide than all the continent’s cars.

There is currently a working group in Quebec on the decarbonization of the maritime industry, and one of the discussions we are currently having is the possibility of compensating the action of shipowners such as cruise lines. It’s putting them to work so that it can reinvest via a foundation in natural decarbonization projects.adds René Trépanier.

In the St. Lawrence, we are perhaps one of the most advanced destinations in terms of sustainable development planning.

In the meantime, technologies are evolving, replies Bill Zucker, spokesperson for Holland America, the cruise line with the largest presence on the St. Lawrence.

This summer, one of our ships traveled between the Netherlands and Norway, running partly on biofuel. The pilot project was a success.

The company wants to reduce its CO2 emissions by 20% by 2030, thanks in part to a shore connection system which now allows all its ships to operate with electricity from the port, rather than with their engines, during stopovers.

The docking ports still need to offer this connection system. Montreal is a rare example, and the technology was used there during 12 stops this year. The port of Quebec wants to offer the technology for 2030, hoping for subsidies to do so.

Just for the installation of three cruise docks here, we are talking about 45 to 50 million dollarsexplains the CEO of the Port of Quebec, Mario Girard.

In office since 2011, Mr. Girard emphasizes that efforts have already been made to ensure that the industry takes a greener turn. We were one of the first, if not the first, ports in the world to set a maximum number of passengers for a given day, which was 15,000.says the CEO of the Port of Quebec.

Quebec City is far from experiencing a phenomenon of mass tourism as is the case for cities like Venice and Amsterdam, which have banned cruise ships from accessing their historic centers. The province’s ports of call are first working to extend their cruise season, which usually ends in the fall.

A first ship will come to Quebec this winter. The St. Lawrence Cruise Association supports ports in implementing their sustainable development plan. It’s things as simple as eliminating single-use plastics and ensuring local purchasing is encouraged.specifies René Trépanier.

What about wastewater?

The ports of Quebec and Montreal collect wastewater from visiting cruise ships using trucks or barges. In addition, Transport Canada prohibits any ship from dumping its wastewater within 3 nautical miles of the coast, or approximately 5.5 kilometers.

The river is therefore spared until around Rimouski, in Bas-Saint-Laurent. Discharges are permitted on the high seas, but the water is often filtered beforehand, with many boats having a treatment system on board.

We also produce 85% of the water used on our boats through a seawater desalination process, and it is potable water.adds Bill Zucker, Holland America.

Doubts despite everything

Professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), Luc Renaud takes a critical look at the cruise industry. He cites a study which showed that a ship used on average the equivalent of 28,000 to 29,000 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers.

That’s still a lot of energy per passenger to move people who, after all, are traveling for recreational purposes. We have to ask ourselves, as a society, if this is the type of travel that we should promote.

Plus, the cruise doesn’t pick you up at the door. You often have to take a plane to go to Miami, go to Bostonadds the researcher.

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Mr. Renaud does not deny that cruise lines have made progress, in the treatment of wastewater for example. However, he deplores the fact that boats are the site of multiple forms of consumption and is concerned about the size of the industry, which could accommodate 40 million passengers worldwide within a few years.

Boats are becoming more and more efficient, but the growth of the industry is somewhat canceling out the gains in energy efficiency, notes the professor at theUQAM.

The largest liner in the world, theIcon of the Seas, of the Royal Caribbean company, was inaugurated last January. It can carry 5,610 passengers, 2,350 crew members and weighs five times more than the Titanic.