Paris (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Environmental activists stopped the cruise ship port in the southern French city of Marseille to oppose the sea, air and climate pollution induced by these huge vessels.
Approximately 20 members of Extinction Rebellion and Marseille-based Stop Croisieres (Stop Cruises) created a chain of canoes in the water across the entry to France’s leading port for cruise liners. The demonstration pushed one ship to turn back and move further down the coast.
“Nothing justifies the maintenance of these absurd, energy-intensive and toxic floating cities,” Stop Croisieres stated on its website. “Our air, our seas and our health are not up for negotiation,” it stated.
What are the main concerns regarding cruise ship pollution?
It criticised the toxic heavy fuel oil used by the vessels, the devastation of the ocean and coastal wildlife, the ships’ effect on the climate and poor working requirements for employees on board.
The protest stopped the Germany-owned Aidastella, which can carry about 2,000 people, from docking.
Marseille is the hub of a burgeoning cruise ship industry in France. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of cruise passengers penetrating the port jumped from 1.5 million to 2.5 million, according to the Marseille Tourism Observatory. Supporters of cruise liners argue they provide income to stopover ports.
How has the cruise industry affected Marseille’s environment?
Critics say the ships encourage passengers to expend their money on board, not on land, and that the industry encourages competition between reception ports to force down prices. There have been demonstrations in several European port cities against the damage induced by cruise liners, including in Venice and Amsterdam, which have expelled them from docking in the city centre.
Stop Croisieres was formed during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We saw videos of nature being restored all over France, little birds in towns and other bucolic scenes. Yet in some parts of Marseille, the air was even more polluted than before the pandemic because of all the cruise liners forced to stay in port with their engines running,” stated Andrea.
In March 2023, residents’ associations in Marseille filed a legal complaint over ocean traffic pollution on the port side, which regularly surpassed European Union limits. According to a study by NGO Transport and Environment, cruise ships cruising in European waters in 2022 radiated more than eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide — the equal of 50,000 Paris to New York flights.
