If they continue to grow at this rate, the biggest cruise ships in 2050 could amount to a staggering 345,000 gross tonnage carrying nearly 11,000 passengers, making them almost eight times bigger than the Titanic. The rapid growth in cruise holidays and increase in cruise ship sizes comes at a significant environmental cost, says T&E, which calls on cruise liners to invest in green technologies to reduce their impact on the planet and local air pollution. For cruise ships, only the sea is the limit.
Over the last half of a century, the global cruise industry has been growing rapidly. The number of ships has increased more than twenty-fold from only 21 ships in 1970 to 515 vessels today. While cruise vacations still maintain an image of luxury, they are becoming a mainstream holiday option in developed countries, with nearly 36 million holidaymakers projected to take a cruise voyage in 2024.
As a result of such rapid growth, these floating cities emit more greenhouse gases and pollutants than ever before. Between 2019 and 2022, CO2 emissions from cruise ships in Europe grew by 17% despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and methane emissions surged by 500%. Inesa Ulichina, sustainable shipping officer at T&E, said: “Today’s cruisezillas make the Titanic look like a small fishing boat.
How much bigger can these giants get? The cruise business is the fastest growing tourism sector and its emissions are quickly getting out of control.” In January 2024, the world’s largest cruise s.