Cruise Ships
Cruise Ships Developments That Could Help Save The Planet
In the latest ‘eco-friendly’ move by governments to reduce carbon emissions from various modes of transport, the cruising industry has been put under the microscope and asked to invest in more sustainable and cleaner ship developments in the coming years. Cruise ships have long been known to be one of the more ‘unclean’ modes of transport, which is an image many cruise lines are keen to move away from. Couple this with the increased taxes that vessels are now receiving based on carbon emissions, and there is real motivations to innovate. Lets take a look at 3 of the most promising eco developments.
Improved Ship Efficiency. Not only are ships now being made from more sustainable materials and but they are also being designed and constructed to more efficient specifications. The materials are getting lighter so less energy is needed for propulsion, soft sails are often being included, and a company in Ireland have pioneered a biogas-powered engine, set to soon be used by Cunard cruises. Hull design has also been dramatically resigned by the same Irish ship building company, allowing the energy usually lost when the boat impacts waves to be turned into forward propulsion instead.
Hybrid Boats. A number of cars and trucks have been developed with hybrid fuel-battery engines now and have integrated very well with the more traditional vehicles. Now ship builders such as those making boats for Silversea Cruises are getting in on the action and making boats that couple the traditional diesel power with electrical power. When its batteries are running low, it connects up the power supply of the nearest harbor and charges them back up again
Sharing Cargo. A great idea being trialled by Oceania Cruises is ‘cargo sharing’. If a cruise ship has not filled all its spaces, it can offer to carry commercial cargo for other companies sending things to the same place, for a small commission of course. A few extra bucks are earned by the cruise companies who would have otherwise wasted space, the company who are shipping the cargo massively save on costs and less pollution is released into the environment. Everyone’s a winner.
What can we do about the Cruise Liner?
Cruise ships are truly massive. They have a huge amount of staff and hold many tourists. But what do they then do with all of that waste they have generated?
Well many of them do dispose of their waste when they get back to port, sensibly and cleanly. Some of these liners have been cutting corners, they have just been dumping there waste in the sea. They simply cannot contain all of the waste in the cruise ship and are forced to release it into the open water. This “dumping” is unacceptable if we want to keep the oceans in clean areas like the Caribbean clean. Around 2003 these ships were creating about thirty thousand gallons of sewage each day. There is not another new study to show the increase of this today.
However this isn’t the main problem. The biggest problem with the cruise liners is what the release into the atmosphere. The engines that thee liners use are of massive proportion, they burn great amounts of diesel that releases harmful dioxides into the air. When a study was performed over ten years from 1991 to 2001 it showed that the British alone purchased 400 percent more cruises at the end of the 10 year period. As far as we are concerned this number could rise another four hundred percent in the next ten years. St Lucia holidays have become very popular, the St Lucian government has even banned some cruise liners from entering its waters.
One thing is for sure though, either we find a new way to power these Cruise ships or we are going to have to forget about them altogether. If you’re thinking of going on Barbados holidays or having weddings abroad, then think quickly before the Caribbean is just another victim of pollution. It then becomes apparent how quickly we are damaging all of these surrounding areas.
