At the dock, cruise ships carrying thousands of passengers emit an alarming level of fine particles, according to measurements made by an association.
At the dock, a cruise ship pollutes as much as a million moving cars. Here is the overwhelming observation of the association France Nature Environment (FNE), which measured, with the German NGO Nabu, the levels of fine particles in the air of the port of Marseille at the beginning of the week.
Floating villages
The association has focused on the pollution emitted by these gigantic ships, veritable floating cities that can carry up to 6,000 travelers and 2,000 members of seagoing personnel.
In ports, these liners do not shut down their engines. Due to the lack of sufficient supply at the quayside, they run them continuously to supply their passengers with electricity and air conditioning, or to operate the kitchens of restaurants. To the detriment of air quality …
60,000 microparticles per cm3
Thus, on Tuesday, the number of extra-fine particles measured near the port’s cruise terminal amounted to 60,000 per cm3, according to the association which points out the health and ecological risks associated with these boat engines, whose emissions are particularly charged suffers because of the fuel oil that feeds them. By comparison, this figure rises to 3,000 per cm3 at Pharo Park, near the Old Port.
According to The Parisian, the port managers will install, by the fall, a power supply device to avoid running the engines. For the association, which has been carrying out awareness-raising actions since Monday in the port, the measure is not sufficient. Fine particle filters must be installed, she believes, although the most effective measure would be to change the fuel.
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