T&E: ‘Today’s cruise ships are more than twice as big as in 2000’

Cruise ships are getting bigger and bigger. According to environmental organization T&E’s latest report, today’s biggest ships are more than twice as big as in 2000. At the current growth rate, the organization predicts that the biggest cruise ships in 2050 could amount to a staggering 345,000 gross tonnage, making them almost eight times bigger than the Titanic, and carry nearly 11,000 passengers.

Also, the number of cruise ships has increased twentyfold, from 21 in 1970 to 515 today. The rapid growth in cruise holidays and increase in cruise ship sizes comes at a significant environmental cost, says T&E, which calls on cruise liners to invest in green technologies to reduce their impact on the planet and local air pollution.

‘The Icon of the Seas’

In January 2024, the world’s largest cruise ship, ‘The Icon of the Seas,’ was launched. The floating city contains 40 restaurants and seven swimming pools and can carry 7,600 passengers. It is longer than 15 blue whales and five times bigger than the Titanic.

The combination of more and bigger cruise ships means that CO2 emissions from cruise ships in Europe were almost 20% higher in 2022 than in 2019 before the pandemic. “The cruise business is the fastest growing tourism sector, and its emissions are quickly getting out of control,” says Inessa Ulichina, sustainable shipping officer at T&E.

‘Only green solution is e-fuel’

Many cruise operators switch to liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative to traditional shipping fuels. While LNG emits fewer pollutants and CO2 when burned, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO2, making these ships more harmful to the climate than traditional shipping fuels. The only green and scalable solution for decarbonizing maritime activities is e-fuels,” concludes Ulichina.

A recent T&E study shows that green e-fuels could power almost 4% of European shipping in 2030. The limited availability of e-fuels and their bunkering infrastructure should be less of an issue for cruise ships, says T&E, as they sail on the same routes with clear schedules, making their fuel refueling needs and timings predictable and relatively easy to plan.

Cruise ships are currently exempt from fuel duties, corporate taxes, and most consumer taxes that other modes of transport are subject to. According to the analysis, a €50 tax on a typical cruise journey ticket would bring in €1.6 billion globally, of which €410 million in Europe. This could provide crucial climate finance and ensure that luxury forms of travel are taxed.