Can the cruise world do more for the ecological transition? They are sure of that in the Marseille municipality. City councilor Benoit Payan (Printemps marseillais, left) has launched a crusade against the giants of the seas.. His petition, launched in July, demanding a ban on the most polluting boats in the port of Marseille during peak pollution days, has collected nearly 49,000 signatures. In response to these insults, Erminio Escena, president of CLIA France, the International Cruise Passenger Association, assured last week: Figaro that cruises account for less than 5% of port calls. For Laurent Lharditt, responsible for tourism at the municipality, this figure is far below reality. An elected official believes we must move faster to protect the Mediterranean Sea, specifically by creating an “ECA” zone there to control polluting emissions.
LE FIGARO. – In his petition, the mayor calls on the state to strike faster and harder, to regulate the influence of those whom you call the giants of the seas. What specific events do you have in mind?
Laurent LHARDIT. – A SECA zone should be established by 2025 to limit sulfur emissions from ships in the Mediterranean. We would like to create a stricter zone called ECA (“Emission Control Area»Editor’s Note:) to limit all kinds of polluting emissions. This is the purpose of the petition and we are preparing to submit a dossier on it to the IMO in the autumn (International Maritime Organization under the United Nations Editor’s Note) We do not ask the Moon. such restrictions already exist in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, USA or China. Let’s admit that the economic situation of some Mediterranean countries is not the same as that of the countries bordering the Baltic Sea. But there is no reason why ships can pollute the Mediterranean more than other seas and oceans. Furthermore, after our petition, the state committed to support our request to create an ECA zone and strengthen controls on boat pollution by drones.
Are efforts towards an ecological transition, such as the electrification of the Marseille docks in 2025, therefore insufficient?
We have to go faster and stronger, we have no alternative for the health of the planet and the people of Mars. Electrification will not solve everything. It also poses a problem of consumption. how to generate and transport enough energy to support the consumption of 8000 people? It’s also worth noting that these facilities were mostly financed by the communities, while the cruise lines would have had the opportunity to do it themselves. Why not use public money to help the ecological transition in industries that do not have the investment power to do it alone, for example passenger transport to Corsica or North African countries?
Why focus on cruises when they represent only 5% of calls in Marseille each year, according to CLIA, the International Association of Cruise Companies?
CLIA takes their convenient number. The Marseille Provence Cruise Club estimates that cruises cause 20% of the total pollution from maritime traffic. Except that it is an average figure for the year. These boats come especially during the summer period, during which the pollution greatly exceeds 20%. And this debate is above all about mega yachts like The miracle of the seas From Royal Caribbean, which carries 9,000 people. It represents a small town powered by fuel. By comparison, Corsica’s 800-person ships, even if equipped with older-generation engines, pollute immensely.
The mayor of Marseille, Benoit Payan, talks about boats that pollute in his forum. “one million cars“. Where does this number come from?
That comes from a 2018 Nature Environment study in France. But we would like to better quantify the phenomenon. At the moment, either the studies do not exist, or one or the other is disputed. We receive complaints from residents about pollution, from doctors who alert us about respiratory diseases. Residents of the center are asked to stop their cars, and when they stick their heads out of the window, they see smoke coming out of the boat… We need to measure the problem. Let’s install a thermometer recognized by all players. The state has committed to start a study on health and the environment in 2019. But until now it has remained a dead letter.
The economic benefits of cruises to the area are also a matter of numbers. What is your position on this matter?
Tourism accounts for only 6% of the GDP in Marseille. And it is largely fueled by the Marseilles themselves, who don’t always go on holiday. The latter no longer want mass tourism, but a model where visitors come to enjoy the city without distorting it. We don’t want Marseille to become an amusement park. Venice bit its fingers. But there is also a lack of studies. Cruise Club produced one in 2017 with each passenger spending €50 per stop. These numbers are imaginary. MSC and Costa have confirmed to us that between 30 and 70% of passengers stay on board during layovers. Other passengers, those who disembark, take part in the tours organized by the company. Some go to visit the Alps, walk in lavender fields. Others stay in Marseille, but they certainly don’t spend €50 knowing that they have lunch or dinner waiting on their boat and that their excursion is already paid for. From January 1, 2023, the municipality will restore the jurisdiction of the Tourism Office, which was under the auspices of the Metropolis since January 2021. This will allow us to work in consultation to make indisputable studies. Because it is with all the actors of the port that we will succeed in the ecological transition.
Source: Le Figaro
