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Cruise ships aren't a spectacle to celebrate, they are polluters

Sydneysiders might want to be informed how many tons of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen gases, benzine, toluene and formaldehyde these ships emit.

It was promoted as a spectacular carnival: five P&O ships in Sydney Harbour at the same time. It may have been for the cruise company, but it was a spectacular disaster for us.

The other side of the story is more compelling, and certainly more breathtaking in a different way: cruise ships are the most polluting of the main vessel types that come into Sydney Harbour. Passenger ships have the highest average emissions per vessel for three of the four major pollutants, causing more breathing difficulties.

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Sydney's five-ship spectacular

Five-ship spectacular watched by thousands on Sydney Harbour to celebrate the arrival of P&O Cruises' two latest vessels, the Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden.

P&O owner Carnival Cruises have been keen to showcase just how many dozens of eggs, litres of milk, and kilograms of fruit and vegetables will be consumed aboard those five ships in Sydney Harbour over the next year. 

But instead of these facts, Sydneysiders might want to be informed of just how many tons of particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen gases, benzine, toluene, and formaldehyde these ships emit. These cause excessive morbidity and mortality at all ages, especially due to eye and mucous membrane disorders, lung and cardiovascular diseases, and cancers.

Estimates from publicly available data republished in The Washington Post show the amount of pollutants coming from the five cruise ships dancing around our harbour was in the order of having more than 63 million extra cars with their engines on, and as much soot as generated by more than 5 million extra cars running at the same time. Each of these ships pour out atmospheric pollution equivalent to more than a modest-sized coal-fired power station.

Preliminary results of a new study indicate that the use of low sulphur fuel by ships within 300 kilometres of the Sydney region population would reduce ship particulate matter emissions within the NSW Greater Metropolitan Region by 86 per cent. Both The Lancet and the MJA have recently stated that reducing particulate air pollution by decreasing fossil fuel combustion "could be the greatest health [benefit] opportunity of the 21st century". 


These cruise ships don't substantially stimulate the tourist economy or generate anywhere near the 10,000 Australian jobs that Carnival claims, because so many of their customers are Australians, induced to shift their spending from Australian-run tourist ventures to generate hefty offshore profits for this global company.

The five cruise ships simultaneously moving in and about Sydney Harbour were not required to burn low sulphur fuel. The new regulations which just came into force after relentless community protest only require cruise ships to burn low sulphur fuel at berth, except for the hour after arrival and the hour before departure. 

This is only a meagre start. The substantial Australian ports, including those in Sydney, need shore-to-ship plug-in power, which we are told is at least several years away. The ever-increasing number of cruise ships and their resumption of overnight stays near residential areas further exacerbates the enormous volume of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions which are so harmful to human health.

Carnival's global chief executive Arnold Donald, in town for this unfortunate celebration, reassured us on ABC's The Business all their new ships would burn low sulphur fuel and their old ships could be adapted. So why didn't they do this voluntarily, and why are they not using low sulphur fuels now, whenever in motion? Even so, this won't solve the pollution due to their other highly toxic emissions.  

Our local communities are clawing back some incremental controls through a few new government regulations, but Carnival ships still transgress even pre-existing noise regulations with impunity, so it is likely to be a slow boat home. 

Professor Alan Rosen is  a community psychiatrist and chair of the Clontarf Cottage Neighbourhood Centre, near White Bay Cruise Terminal.


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