Greenhouse gases – Polluting cruises – News

The cruise is fun, the environment toasts. While holidays spent on these gigantic tourist boats have seen a real revival of interest since the end of Covid, our English colleagues from the magazine Which? have just compiled a list of the most polluting shipping companies (1). More precisely, their study focuses on cruise passengers who, in 2023, docked in a European port. Indeed, from the moment a ship stops in a port located in our region to load or unload goods or people, the operator is required to communicate an assessment of its CO emissions.₂ to European authorities. Information collected in a public database (2). According to Which?, the most emitting cruise ship of the entire year 2023 is the Norwegian Epic of the Norwegian Cruise Line, responsible for 95,000 tonnes of CO₂ last year, or “the carbon footprint of a small town of 20,000 inhabitants”. Gigantic slides, bowling alleys, jazz club, restaurants… This 329 meter long boat can accommodate up to 4,070 people!

Disney Cruise

Our colleagues have also established an average of CO emissions₂ per nautical mile (1,852 km) traveled by each company. And, in this little game, Disney Cruise is the winner. In fact, cruises where you can meet Mickey, Minnie and their friends emit 1,481 tonnes of CO₂ per nautical mile! However, the study authors note, “in 2023, Disney had only one ship sailing around Europe: the Disney Dream, with a capacity of 2,500 people”. On the second step of the podium, we find the Norwegian Cruise Line. The boats of this American company emit, on average, 1,413 tonnes of CO₂ by nautical. Princess Cruises takes the bronze medal with a remarkable average of 1,253 t. Here is the rest of the top 10: Royal Caribbean (1,248 t), MSC Cruises (1,229 t), Virgin Voyages (1,229 t), Celebrity Cruises (1,228 t), Cunard (1,207 t), P&O Cruises (1,108 t), Costa Cruises (1,051 t). Contacted by Which?most of these companies relativize or even contest the calculation methodology of this study.