Before so-called climate protectors like Greta Thunberg put aviation in the crossfire of criticism, cruise ships got their fat. In the meantime, hardly anyone is talking about the fact that environmental protection at sea is at best a marginal issue.

The German Nature Conservation Union has been monitoring the cruise industry for over ten years. The latest report shows that much has been announced so far, but little has been implemented. Heavy fuel oil, which is considered to be harmful to the environment and climate but dirt cheap, is still used by almost all shipping companies. A few new builds rely on alternatives, but conversions of existing fleets have been announced at most, but have only been implemented in a few cases.

The Nabu examined a total of 19 shipping companies and their environmental and climate protection promises. The result of the analysis is devastating, because Hurtigruten Norway, which was ranked first, was only able to achieve half of the possible points. Accordingly, it looks sobering on the following ranks.

These include Aida, Hapag-Llyod and Tui Cruises. The Nabu study shows that, although a lot has been announced and one could therefore be considered a pioneer, a lot has not yet been implemented. Further back are Costa, Phoenix Reisen and Marella. The latter shipping company was not able to achieve any point at all in the most recent Nabu ranking.

The environmental organization demands that cruise ships should no longer be operated with heavy fuel oil as soon as possible. Politicians, but also shipping companies, are being asked to ensure that all new ships in the future are allowed to cause zero emissions. Some alternatives are currently under construction, but these are almost exclusively LNG ships. A few projects are planned in the field of fuel cells and batteries. For example, Tui Cruises wants to launch a ship with a methanol drive.