Sustainability on the seas

Cruise lines are going greener, but some are under fire for greenwashing

- Sarah Stanley

With new vessels from cruise operators such as Resorts World Cruises and Royal Caribbean International due to homeport in Singapore in 2025, and the highly anticipated Disney Adventure cruise ship sailing from Marina Bay Cruise Centre in December, the demand for cruising in the region is set to rise.

Less talked about, however, are the environmental impacts of cruising.

Separate studies by research organisation International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and sustainability-focused news website Energymonitor.ai found that carbon emissions for an individual were two to three times higher on a cruise holiday than a holiday by flight.

In a May 2022 article, ICCT's marine programme director Bryan Comer wrote that cruise ships are very carbon-intensive modes of transport that "double as floating hotels".

The article reported that the average passenger on a five-night cruise travelling around 2,000km, or roughly the distance between Singapore and Bangkok – on the most efficient cruise liner on the market then, would be responsible for around 500kg of carbon dioxide emissions.

A traveller taking a round-trip flight covering the same distance and staying in a four-star hotel for the same period of time would be responsible for less than half – or about 235kg – of the carbon dioxide emissions.

The main reason for this difference is that cruises traditionally burn large amounts of oil-based fuels continuously to stay operational for days at sea, resulting in an extremely high carbon output.

In spite of its impact on the environment, the cruise industry is on a trajectory of exponential growth and was one of the fastest travel sectors to rebound post-pandemic.