ANPA Holland America Line cruise ship is photographed in Rotterdam
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 20:11
Sharyfah Bhageloe
Editor online
Sharyfah Bhageloe
Editor online
A dream come true, is featured prominently on the Disney Dream cruise ship website. Tonight the 340 meter long theme ship, with wild water slide, moored in Amsterdam. The ship will make its debut in Rotterdam on Sunday.
The number of cruise ships that dock, too cruise calls mentioned, has risen sharply in Rotterdam. In 2009, the city had only 18 cruise calls per year. This year it has grown to 111 calls per year, an increase of more than 500 percent in 14 years. While according to experts it is one of the least sustainable ways to go on holiday.
On such a Disney theme cruise ship there is room for approximately 4000 passengers and 1460 crew members. Those on board can eat in a Beauty and the Beast restaurant and watch all kinds of Disney theater shows.
This afternoon the ship was in Amsterdam:
Luxury Disney Dream cruise ship for the first time in the Netherlands
The number of cruise tourists in the Netherlands is increasing. In 2016, this number was still 104,000, which rose to 123,000 in 2019. The cruise industry came to a standstill during the corona crisis, but it is now coming back strongly. Passenger numbers are expected to increase in 2023.
Eke Eijgelaar, sustainable tourism expert at Breda University of Applied Sciences: “It is one of the least sustainable ways to go on holiday, especially because these types of ships use incredible amounts of fossil fuels.”
27 tank fillings
He compares the climate footprint of a cruise and a plane holiday. “You have to imagine that an average cruise vacation of 7 days emits about 1200 kilos of CO2.” He emphasizes that this figure does not include the flight journey most people make to get on the ship. An average Dutch holiday by air has similar emissions, but lasts about 10 days.
According to calculations by research agency CE Delft, an average cruise ship the size of the Disney cruise ship consumes 1.9 tons of fuel per hour and emits 5.8 tons of CO2 per hour at the quay. A petrol car needs 27 tank fillings to emit the same amount of fuel.
With regard to the emission of sulfur and particulate matter, the air pollutants that can affect local residents, the situation in Rotterdam has slowly improved. “Cruise shipping has a strong lobby that has been able to postpone the tightening of sulfur limits for a long time. Shipping companies are trying to find solutions that are as cheap as possible to deal with stricter legislation.”
New ships are often equipped with Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) instead of fuel oil or marine diesel. An advantage of this is that air pollution is greatly reduced by LNG. But according to Eijgelaar, CO2 emissions are only falling to a limited extent. And in its place comes methane, which is even more harmful than CO2.
“The cruise industry is a leader in terms of the environment and sustainability,” says Nick Hoogeweij of Cruise Port Rotterdam, the company that operates the Cruise Terminal. He cites LED lighting, battery technology and LNG as examples. Eke Eijgelaar disputes that: “In 2023, it would be strange if you still call the switch to LED lighting special. Decreases in fuel consumption are partly canceled out by the overall growth of the cruise industry.”
Shore power in 2024
The generators have to run for the required energy on board, which leads to emissions. But shore power is going to change that. Power is used on shore and the generators on moored ships can remain off.
The intention is that shore power will be installed in 2024 at the Holland Amerikakade near the Cruise Terminal. “More than 90% of the cruise ships that will berth in Rotterdam in 2024 will be able to connect to this,” says Hoogeweij. This means that not all ships have a connection for shore power.
According to Bauke Visser, professor of economic decision-making processes at Erasmus University, cruise shipping in Rotterdam does not yield much. “Very little. As an example, he mentions the dining options on board. “The buffet restaurant is included in the price. So often the passengers choose to eat on board and not on shore.” Even if bicycles are rented for an excursion, that happens on the ship, according to Visser. “And the guide is just crew personnel.”
Passengers also receive incorrect information on the website. It says they are going to Amsterdam. “Many passengers do not know when booking that they are docking in Rotterdam. It is really nothing for Rotterdam.”
All ships are part of our identity and prosperity. Cruise ships are a nice iconic example of this.
Robert Simons, Alderman Port, Economy, Hospitality and Management Rotterdam
Robert Simons, alderman for economics of Rotterdam, does not agree with that. “All ships are part of our identity and prosperity. Cruise ships are a beautiful, iconic example of this. I also like that there is such a cruise ship.”
While the Amsterdam city council wants to keep cruise ships out of the city, this does not seem to be the case in Rotterdam. Simons does point out that Rotterdam intends to only allow cruise ships with a shore power connection from 2027.
2023-08-17 18:11:37
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