HOW DIRTY IS THE CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY?

At the end of 2018, there were 314 cruise ships operating worldwide carrying a total of 26 million annual passengers. The largest operator is Carnival and all its subsidiaries, with 103 ships and 12 million passengers. The problem: Each day a cruise ship emits as much particulate matter as a million cars. Marine expert Bill Hemmings says: “Even when they burn low-sulfur fuel, these ships are 100 times worse than road diesel.” Large ships burn at least 150 tons of fuel per day, emitting more sulfur than several million cars and the CO2 of almost 84,000. And: Most cruise ships burn heavy fuel oil. Generally considered a “worst-case substance,” it contains 3,500 times more sulfur than is permitted in diesel fuel. The Brussels-based Transport & Environment group says: “Air pollution from international shipping accounts for approximately 50,000 premature deaths per year in Europe alone, at an annual cost to society of more than $65 billion.”