Everyone understands the importance and principles of creating a green environment and governments are seeking ways to tackle the problems at hand.
The cruise industry has applied changes that so far have had a huge impact in improving the environment. All cruise lines are continuing to become more and more environmentally friendly.
One of the biggest changes that occurred was the incorporation of the advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) technology. This is a method that treats waste water so it’s safe to discharge at sea, therefore not hurting the vital aquatic life or polluting the sea.
The newest ships are incorporating the latest in green technologies in their design. Energy-efficient appliances, solar panels and cooking oil converters are just a few items being installed.
Although many of the older ships may not be as technologically advanced, the cruise lines are making sure they are doing their part in caring for the environment. They have scheduled practices of fine tuning arrival and departure times at ports to save fuel and reduce noise pollution.
It is also nice to know that the major players in the industry collaborate with government agencies to collect data about the ocean’s health and climate changes.
Shore Power Systems
The Port of San Diego contains a shore-power system that asserts major environmental benefits. It was installed early this year and is now up and running. Ships typically run their diesel engines to maintain power even when in port which is detrimental to air quality and greenhouse gas emissions.
Use of shore-power systems will greatly reduce these greenhouse gas emissions by over 50 percent each year. Ships will now be able to shut off their engines, whilst in port, plug into the grid and maintain power within all the cabins, crew and public areas.
There are several other ports that have installed the system, including the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Seattle and the Port of Juneau.
Ships need a specially built electrical connection with coordinating cables in order to plug into the local onshore network. It takes roughly 40 minutes for the connection to generate sufficient power for an entire ship but the environmental rewards will be immense.
Carnival to spend £237 million on cleaning up their engines
Carnival Cruise Lines have decided to plug into the shore-power systems while at ports that have the system, rather than remain idle with engines running. When docking at ports that have no grid available, they plan on utilising a lower sulphur fuel.
However, the big environmental news recently announced from Carnival is that they are allocating over 237 million pounds to clean their massive diesel engines.
As part of an agreement reached with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Carnival stated that they would install scrubbers and filters over the next three years to reduce the amount of sulphur dioxide on at least 32 ships in their fleet.
The new technology will go unnoticed by passengers because it will be taking place inside the engine room.
Arnold Donald, the chief executive at Carnival Corporation stated that “This is a key step forward for Carnival Corp. and its 10 brands — and most importantly for the environment.”
This preparation will reduce the amount of air pollution on 70% of their ships. This procedure will be put into place on other lines owned by Carnival such as Holland America, Costa, Princess Cruise Lines, Cunard Line and P&O Cruises.
Written by Veronica Shine
