Cruise Ship Ban in the Fjords deferred until 2032

Sigh… this is sad news. Thanks for the update.

I agree, this is sad news. I wish this were immediate.

Lost years to avoid such pictures (link 1; link 2).

We were waiting for the ban on tourists visiting unless they have zero emissions cars…………

I have actually managed to find the full news article now (having first heard the news in a weekly cruise podcast)-
https://cruise.blog/2024/09/norway-delays-fjord-cruise-ship-ban

The 2026 date WILL still apply to tourist ships and ferries under 10,000 gross tonnes, but not to larger cruise ships. These smaller vessels will be allowed to use biogas.

Part of the reason is that even Hurtigruten do not yet have the required technology (unlike Havila they have not opted for rechargeable battery packs, like in electric cars, which carry their own issues) but are trying to develop real green technology. That does not exist on any large ship anywhere.

Also there are real concerns on the economic effect that decimating the tourist market will have on cruise ports such as Geiranger and Flam.

We were waiting for the ban on tourists visiting unless they have zero emissions cars

Carol, do you really compare cars with a cruise ship regarding emissions such as nitrogen dioxide and fine dust?

My comment was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek in response to all the previous comments. It seems to be human nature to easily see how others are creating issues and never acknowledge that all of us impact when we travel.

We complain about pollution from cruise ships while ignoring the pollution from flying and driving. We complain about overcrowding and places that struggle with over tourism while cheerfully planning our next trip to those same locations.

I realize this is a huge generalization. It isn’t true of everyone. I just think we all benefit when we stop thinking of such issues as having one villain. Can the cruise industry do better? Absolutely!

I agree that the impact comes from all of us - in a very different way.

But cruise ships are extremely brutal polluters. German NABU (nature protection organisation) made comparison of pollution between cars and cruise ships to illustrate the problem. Depending on the emission type the ratio cruise ship is between 1 : >80,000 cars to 1 : >300,000,000 cars. Eben if you break this down to cabins the it is still a huge difference.

Of course that does not mean that NABU like cars (more the opposite) or that cars are better but the ratios are brutal. I know from German AIDA cruises that the whole industry is working late on this - they are leading in their group. e. g. by using land power connection when they are in harbors.

A German documentary showed in 2019 already with harbor air measurements what this means for the air quality in harbors and nearby towns (source: report about docu in German language).