Stand.earth study slams air quality on Carnival Corp cruise ships

An investigative report commissioned by environmental campaign organisation Stand.earth released on Wednesday (23 January) suggested extremely poor air quality on four Carnival Corporation ships.

The report, titled ‘An investigation of air pollution on the decks of 4 cruise ships’ showed air quality on the cruise ships can be worse than some of the world’s most polluted cities including Beijing, China and Santiago, Chile.

“More than 30 million people worldwide are expected to go on a cruise in 2019, and these cruise passengers and staff may be exposed to concerning levels of air pollution that could impact their health,” said Dr. Ryan Kennedy, researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, also author of the report.

“Despite being on the open sea, they can be breathing dirty air worse than some of the world’s most polluted cities.”

The study measured ultrafine particulate pollution from multiple locations on four cruise ships, both in port and at sea over multi-day cruises. Ultrafine particles can have thousands of times more surface area than fine particles and are small enough to be inhaled into a person’s lungs and move into the bloodstream, where they can cause higher rates of cardiovascular disease and asthma.

All four ships in the two-year study have scrubbers installed, allowing them to burn heavy fuel oil inside most of the North American and Caribbean Emissions Control Areas. In California, where scrubbers are banned within 24 miles from shore, ships are required to switch to a cleaner-burning fuel.

“Carnival claims its scrubbers significantly reduce air emissions,” noted Kendra Ulrich, Senior Shipping Campaigner at Stand.earth.

“This report’s continuous elevated readings indicate that even in California, where Carnival Corporation is required to switch to a cleaner-burning fuel, air pollution on board remains a serious concern.

“That’s why Carnival must not only switch to a cleaner-burning fuel, but also install adequate pollution filters to help prevent this dangerous ultrafine particulate pollution from impacting the health of its passengers and staff.”

STUDY CONCLUSIONS

Some of the findings from the study include:

• While all four ships were traveling at sea, average particle counts were significantly higher in the areas behind the smokestacks (stern).
• Particle counts on the Holland America MS Amsterdam were approximately eight times higher on the stern areas than on the bow. 
• Particle counts on the Carnival Freedom measured as high as 73,621 particles per cubic centimeter (pt/cc) near the running track while at sea.
• Particle counts on the Princess Cruises Emerald Princess measured as high as 157,716 pt/cc on the lower stern while at sea.

In comparison, pollution measurements taken with the same equipment in Beijing, China in 2009 were 30,000 pt/cc on a busy street, and in Santiago, Chile in 2011-2012 were in the ranges of 8,000-30,100 pt/cc.

The full online report can be downloaded here.

Photo credit: Stand.earth
Published: 28 January, 2019