When thinking of cruising, the first thing that came to mind might not be those green, and ecology-friendly images. While it is not completely wrong, more and more cruising companies are trying to break the image and make green and ecologically friendly cruising options.

While the pandemic had hit the cruising industry badly, a lot of people who planned on taking a cruise trip are now back in demand, and are ready to tick cruising off their bucket list. Consequently, the demand for cruising is increasing, which is a great opportunity for cruising companies to produce new vessels that are ecological. 

For instance, a Norwegian cruise line instead of relying on highly polluted marine fuel, the vessel is hybrid and relies on electricity and nitrogen gas. As a great initiative, more and more vessels are now hybrid. The hybrid system could cut the NOx and CO2 emissions drastically compared to the traditional vessels which rely on fuels.

There are many other aspects that now the cruise industry is using high technologies to improve. For example, some cruises are using new hulls; also making sure the cruise is reducing food waste; using surplus heat from the nitrogen gas for the heating system, and heating up the water. Furthermore, there are also hi-tech stabilisers that will not harm the seafloor with heavy anchors.

However, improving the vessels is not the only significant impact cruising causes. The local environment, and the local society are also as important. Hence, together with the local experts, the cruising companies are establishing new and protective ways for disembarkation. 

While cruising companies are doing more and more to ensure more sustainable and cleaner vessels, there are still many downfalls. The vessels, despite being hybrid, are still running on fossil fuels and many high-budget travellers take flights and other means to reach the embarkation. With this itself, the journey had already caused a great CO2 emission impact. There is no doubt that there is still a long journey to reach a zero-impact cruising tour, however, the awareness from the industry and the public are now raising gradually.