Cruise Ships Turning Eco Friendly

Posted by Rolf Joho on February 12th, 2010 filed in Global Warming

Cruise lines have recently come under a great deal of pressure from governments to clean up their act and make cruising a more sustainable and environmentally friendly activity. A number of damming environmental reports that showed cruising to be one of the most eco unfriendly forms of transport helped many cruise companies to reassess their operations. Couple this with the increased taxes that vessels are now receiving based on carbon emissions, and there is real motivations to innovate. Below are details of three great innovations in making cruise ships more eco-friendly.

Improved Ship Efficiency. Old ship designs really didn’t have their environmental impact in mind, but the latest ships are built from sustainable materials and put together using eco-friendly techniques. The materials are getting lighter so less energy is needed for propulsion, soft sails are often being included, and a company in Ireland have pioneered a biogas-powered engine, set to soon be used by Cunard cruises. Hull design has also been dramatically resigned by the same Irish ship building company, allowing the energy usually lost when the boat impacts waves to be turned into forward propulsion instead.

Hybrid Engines. Automobiles that rely on both fuel combustion and battery power have been around for a little while now and have proved very popular. Now ship builders such as those making boats for Silversea Cruises are getting in on the action and making boats that couple the traditional diesel power with electrical power. When its batteries are running low, it connects up the power supply of the nearest harbor and charges them back up again

Cargo-Pooling. A great idea being trialled by Oceania Cruises is ‘cargo sharing’. If a cruise ship has not filled all its spaces, it can offer to carry commercial cargo for other companies sending things to the same place, for a small commission of course. The cruise company wins as they get money they would otherwise not have got, the cargo company does not have to charter its own boat, and energy is saved that reduces carbon emissions.