Cruise ships regularly fail to plug into ‘zero emission’ onshore power and are continuing to use polluting engines, according to an openDemocracy investigation.
Data from the investigation which looked at Southampton – which is the UK’s largest cruise port –found that the cruise ships often burn diesel, which has a higher carbon footprint, instead of plugging in.
Between April 2022 and the end of July 2023 there were more than 300 days on which a ship was berthed at Southampton, which suggests that ships could have also plugged in for that amount of time.
However, the data shared with openDemocracy reveals that the ships were only plugged in for 72 days a year.
Just 45 ships visiting the port produced almost ten times more harmful pollutants that the city’s 93,000 cars combined, according to the Transport and Environment think tank.
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In addition, the ships that did plug in only tended to plug in for about five hours per visit despite typically spending 12 hours in the port.
In total, cruise ships emit up to two to five times more CO2 per passenger than the average commercial aeroplane in Europe.
Overall, shore power can help reduce emissions by “up to 98%” according to Cruise Lines International Association.
Earlier this year, the shipping company Cargill launched the world’s first wind-propelled cargo ship, highlighting greener alternatives for the industry.
Transport and Environment UK sustainable shipping manager Jon Hood said: “There’s clean power available but the cruise companies don’t want to pay for it”.
Green Party councillor for Southampton said: “if cruise liners aren’t mandated to change, this will continue and our residents will suffer. We need all berths to be able to provide onshore power and ships can be adapted to use it”.
“Every ship is like a small town, spewing out pollution when they are not using electricity,” she continued.
