Carnival cruise line is on a mission to reduce emissions. The world's largest cruise ship company will soon adopt technology from power plants and automobiles to make their ships more environmentally friendly by reducing air pollution that is emitted from the huge diesel engines that power the ships.
Carnival Corp. and the Environmental Protection Agency reached a tentative agreement on Thursday in which the cruise line agreed to deploy scrubbers to reduce sulfur dioxide and filters to trap dirt on an estimated 32 ships over the course of the next three years. Instead of remaining idol while in port, the ships will also plug into the electrical grid as another way to reduce pollution, the Associated Press reports.
Cruise ships emissions have been a big problem as it is unregulated for ocean-going vessels. The emission from these ships has led to 30 major U.S. ports violating air pollution standards. The International Maritime Organization had to create buffer zones along U.S. coasts requiring foreign-flagged ships to reduce pollution in 2010 at the request of the EPA.
Carnival's mission to create cleaner ships will cost the company more than $180 million, but this will apply to ships operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Cunard. However if the steps that they take don't meet or exceed the standard, they'll have to opt for an even more expensive option. They'll have to use lower sulfur fuel.
Scrubbers have been used at power plants for several decades and filters to reduce the soot from exhaust have been used in diesel trucks and cars for many years. There is a challenge putting this technology on cruise ships due to limited space for the equipment.
Carnival isn't the only company working to reduce emissions. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines have also agreed to jump on board. They're in the process of testing out different pollution control technologies.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
