Maritime transport is responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Without effective mitigation measures, the sector could account for up to 10% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050. Carbon dioxide is a pollutant gas that contributes to the ozone hole and the greenhouse effect.
Ships have traditionally relied on heavy fuel oil to power their engines, which leads to serious climate, environmental and health consequences. In recent years, public opinion has called for new international fuel standards, and this has prompted shipping companies to announce a “green transition”, particularly for cruise ships, where the air pollution immediately affects passengers.
The campaign launched last year by the cruise line MSC, called “For more beauty”, is an important step in this direction.
The campaign encourages the public to discover the beauty of cruising in a “more conscious way, with a deep respect for the ocean and the planet”. Beauty, represented by an alluring female voice, invites the public to immerse themselves in the world’s destinations, in nature and in wonderful experiences on and off board the ship. The campaign has been activated in more than 30 countries worldwide and is seen through a mix of marketing channels including TV, print media, digital and social media. Created in partnership with Dentsu Creative Italy, the campaign has been filmed by the Australian director Kiku Ohe. Known for his ability to craft compelling visual narratives, elicit authentic character-driven performances, his highly awarded filmmaking displays a rare depth and artistry.
The highlight of this campaign is the company’s new ships that use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel. The Sustainability Report (2003) that MSC publishes every year speaks of it as an “innovative, environmentally friendly, clean and green technology” that will allow cruise passengers to reach their destinations while “respecting the oceans and the planet”. LNG is a fossil fuel, and its use in place of other marine fuels significantly reduces emissions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. However, a cruise ship running on LNG emits the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions overall as a ship using traditional fuels, or according to some researchers even more, due to a phenomenon called “methane slip”. Some of the gas is not burned in the combustion process, resulting in methane being emitted into the atmosphere. This is a very harmful gas that contributes significantly to the greenhouse effect and climate change. Methane slip seems to be more prominent at low engine loads, when the ship is approaching or leaving port, while it is less of a factor during normal navigation. The combustion of LNG also emits formaldehyde, a volatile organic compound that is carcinogenic and very harmful to health even at low concentrations.
So, while LNG in maritime transport brings benefits in terms of its impact on air quality, its use has serious and negative effects on the climate. So much so that first Fossil Free Netherlands and then the British Advertising Standards Council (SRC) sued the company for “greenwashing”. Greenwashing refers to the practice of spreading misleading information by claiming that the company’s products are environmentally friendly when in fact they are not.
In December last year, MSC Cruises agreed to remove its LNG advertising following the complaint from SRC. The UK regulator’s pronouncement was based on two elements: the advertising of LNG in MSC’s Sustainability Report as “one of the cleanest fuels”, which was found to be false and misleading, and the statement that the company aims to achieve zero emissions by 2050 or in “the not too distant future” which was found to be highly ambiguous. This creates the illusion for cruise passengers that they are positive actors on the path to greater sustainability, without, however, offering any facts to back up such generic claims.
The second consideration that needs to be made in terms of sustainability in relation to cruises concerns cruise tourism itself. MSC, like other companies, boasts about its efforts in the field of responsible tourism, such as helping local economies and minimizing waste on board its ships. However, the reality looks very different. Many cruises bring large numbers of tourists to small destinations, causing overcrowding and damage to local ecosystems, while cruise ship waste is very high; concerning food we know that 30% on average ends up in the waste stream. Furthermore, the economic benefits for local communities are minimal, because cruise ship tourists do most of their spending on the ship.
In its Sustainability Report, MSC announces a CLIA survey according to which each cruise passenger spends an average of $750 during a typical seven-day cruise at the ports where the ship stops. The Report goes on to describe close cooperation between the company and local tourism and transport associations. Passengers on board are provided with information and apps to locate recommended shops (handicrafts, textiles, jewelry…) for good deals and souvenirs, and by doing so the company supports local artisans and artists by helping them reach a wider market, publicity that in turn allows passengers to buy authentic souvenirs that keep the culture of the places in their souls. However, the company does not tell the cruise passengers that the shops recommended to them have paid hundreds of dollars a year to be included in these lists, and that often this is compounded by a percentage that the shopkeepers have to pay the cruise line on their purchases. Sometimes the shops mentioned are simply run directly by the cruise company.
But speaking of sustainability, let us consider the latest trend in the cruise industry, which is the purchase of an island by the major companies. Since the 1990s, cruise lines have invested in private islands that offer passengers exclusive beach moments, which are presented as a convenient extension of the on-board experience. These are almost always islands in the Caribbean. As the companies continue to build new exclusive destinations and enhance their island enclaves, the Caribbean holiday also comes to life on board, where these tropical paradises are cleverly presented “to offer our guests the most exclusive of Caribbean dreams!”. MSC Cruises owns Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, the world’s largest private cruise resort, located in the beautiful Western Bahamas. The island is only accessible to MSC Cruises guests and is built on a 95-acre man-made island and former aragonite sand mining facility, which was originally planned to be converted into an LNG import terminal. It has several kilometers of beach and a deep-water jetty to allow cruise ships to dock.
MSC bought it from the state of the Bahamas on a 99-year lease and invested $200 million in it. The Bahamas is home to many of these islands: Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Great Stirrup Cay and Royal Caribbean’s Coco Cay.
Obviously, in Ocean Cay, there is no relationship with the local communities because there aren’t any: those working on the island are employed by the cruise line. Nor is there any requirement to call life on the island a form of sustainable tourism.
MSC’s Sustainability Report tends to gain acceptance and enhance the brand image among environmentally conscious consumers who are duped into unwittingly supporting companies that practice deception, while the company’s actions tell a much different story.
The UNESCO-promoted approach to sustainable tourism takes a completely different path. First of all, it is highly participatory, in the sense that it seeks to involve all the stakeholders of the site in question, especially the local community, which is called upon to contribute proactively to the development of tourism strategies that respect the site’s vulnerability. The presence of visitors must be managed in such a way that they do not contribute, for example, to environmental damage and pollution. An operational tourism plan must be the result of continuous interaction between the various local actors, thus creating new opportunities for them.
Information is required to be compelling and straightforward, stimulating visitors to learn about their destinations and prompting them to return on their own, always involving the local community. This is obviously precluded in artificially created places like Ocean Cay.
Transportation, accommodation and catering must be the subject of strategically oriented development plans in order not to compromise the outstanding universal value of a given site, and at the same time to bring tangible benefits, such as investments in infrastructure that can benefit local businesses. Development plans should take due account of the community’s wellbeing and what it depends on. Finally, visitor behavior and movements and their impact on the sites they visit should be monitored. Indeed, the flow of tourists can compromise the cultural and natural value and characteristics of the site, as well as the quality of the visitor experience.
All of which is a far cry from the cruise tourism we are talking about.
Cover image: by X Gabriele || Cruise & Travel @CruisingPassion Guess who arrived at Ocean Cay? MSC World America this morning in Ocean Cay Marine Reserve
L’articolo If You Care About the Planet – Don’t Get on That Ship! proviene da ytali..
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