Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) new Global Cruise Industry Environmental Technologies and Practices Report says the industry is progressing towards a greener future.
The annual report was released on Friday (Washington DC time) and highlights data showing ongoing positive developments in advancing cruising’s environmental and sustainability agenda, including investments in ships and technologies for the uptake of transitional and alternative fuels.
“Cruise lines are continuing to reduce their emissions at sea and at berth in pursuit of net zero emissions by 2050,” CLIA CEO Kelly Craighead said.
“This year’s environmental technologies report demonstrates their progress, with the industry investing in engine technologies with conversion capabilities that will allow ships to use more renewable energy sources as they become available and making important incremental steps to employ a range of other environmental technologies and practices to advance the industry’s wider sustainability initiatives.”
Report highlights
Fleet Profile
CLIAS’s member ocean fleet increased to 303 ships with 635,000 births across 45 brands. Of these ships, 35 per cent are ‘small ships’ (under 1,000 births), 38 per cent are ‘mid-size ships’ (between 1,000 and 3,000 births) and 26 per cent are ‘large ships’ (over 3,000 births).
Fuel flexibility
CLIA member cruise lines are increasingly investing in new ships and engines that are suitable for a number of fuel options including; renewable biodiesel, investments in the capability to use green methanol when available, and liquified natural gas (LNG).
Ships designed with engines and fuel supply systems able to operate on LNG will be able to switch to zero and near-zero fuels such as bio or synthetic LNG in the future, with no engine modifications. Only
While LNG has virtually zero sulfur emissions and particulate emissions, reduces NOx emissions by approximately 85 per cent and achieves up to a 20 per cent reduction in GHG emissions, only 7 per cent of the fleet are it for primary propulsion.
Selective Catalytic Reduction Technology (SCR)
71 ships, representing 25 per cent of the fleet and more than 25 per cent of global capacity, have SCR systems an increase of 34 per from 2023.
Selective Catalytic Reduction technology (SCR) reduces particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions, thus helping ships to meet IMO Tier III classification standards for nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx).
Onshore Power Supply (OPS, AKA Shore Power)
Plugging in to OPS when ships are in port allows ships’ engines to be switched off, achieving significant overall pollutant emissions reductions of up to 98 per cent, depending on the mix of energy sources, according to studies conducted by a number of the world’s ports and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
147 ships are able to connect to OPS (52 per cent of the total number of ships and 61 per cent of capacity) an increase of 167 per cent since 2018 with a predicted 239 ships able to be connected by 2028.
Advanced Water Treatment Systems (AWTS)
The majority of CLIA member cruise ships sailing today utilize advanced wastewater treatment systems (AWTS), which are capable of exceeding MARPOL Annex IV requirements and perform better than shoreside treatment plants in some coastal cities.
Cruise lines have committed to not release untreated sewage anywhere in the world during normal operations.
Freshwater Production
The majority of CLIA members produce their own fresh water onboard their ships, with 267 ships (representing more than 94 per cent of reporting ships and 96 per cent of global capacity) able to do so — of which 172, nearly 60 per cent of the fleet, are capable of producing enough water to match their total consumption.
