There has been a fundamental shift in the way people view shipping in recent years. Heavy fuel as a propellant, in particular, has met with criticism due to its levels of contaminants. What a lot of people are unaware of is that the proportion of pollution emissions from cruise shipping among seafaring vessels worldwide stands at just 0.6 percent. Moreover, more stringent requirements have been applied to the emission control areas of the North and Baltic Sea in the interest of environmental conservation since 2015, limiting fuels’ sulphur content to 0.1 percent. The consequence of this is that where there are no exhaust gas cleaning systems available on-board, ships are converted to low-emission marine gas oil, or LNG.

Alongside the statutory frameworks, there are multifarious efforts to improve air purity by means of new fuel and supply technologies. People are not generally aware of how lengthy and cost-intensive development processes are. As a port city, Hamburg is facing up to its responsibility for a healthy environment and is committed to sustainable solutions in cruise shipping within the framework of the European Green Cruise Port project. Hamburg Cruise Net e.V. supports examples of “Best Practice” and environmentally-friendly measures in the context of network management and presents these to a broad public. With objectively sound information and greater transparency, the aim is to break down sweeping judgements and prompt understanding of complex interconnections and developments.