Norway News

[NMTraveller]

Norway Allows Cruise Ships In World Heritage Fjords Until 2032 (forbes.com)

 

Here's to hoping that our 2026 Norway itineraries change back for the better 🍷

[donaldsc]

Yet another example of kicking the bucket down the road.  I guess the cruise company pressure works.  Want to bet that in 2032 they push it down to maybe 2050.  

 

DON

 

 

Edited August 29 by donaldsc

[MyriamS]

Well, that was predictable. 

 

I could just about see how river cruise ships would be able to become fully electric*. with large batteries and cleverly designed itineraries, charging at every port of call. However, for ocean cruise ships, this is simply impossible. They carry far more passengers and they need to be fully self-sufficient for 24h or more as they cross the ocean. There is no battery large enough to enable that.

 

So for ocean cruise ships, the only two solutions I see to be zero emission are hydrogen* and nuclear. Both of which are fraught with complication. None of which are going to happen right away. Certainly not in 2026. Probably not in 2032 either, because you just don't need to build the vessel, you also need to make it safe to carry thousands of passengers and legally recognised as such.

 

Decarbonisation is hard and signing papers saying "it needs to happen by year X" is not going to make it happen. You need to actually invest in technology to transform the shipping industry. 

 

*The electricity or hydrogen used to power the ships need to have been generated with zero emission methods. If they are created through the burning of fossil fuels, this does not actually fix the problem.