EMEA News
Amsterdam Calls Time on City Centre Calls by Cruise Ships
A move by local authorities in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam to relocate its cruise ship terminal away from the city's central tourist district has been widely reported in the media.
The reporting has cited 'overtourism', a term that suggests popular tourist destinations can reach saturation point, as well as air pollution from cruise ship emissions as being behind the move.
But what will follow from the decision in real terms remains to be seen.
Operations director at the cruise terminal, Dick de Graaff, was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that Cruise Port Amsterdam was waiting to see what the city would do next but was not immediately closing the terminal.
Apart from delivering a surfeit of tourists at any one time, docked cruise ships have been criticised for adding to air pollution in built up areas. One solution is to install shore power where berthed vessels can switch to cleaner electric power when stationary a method of power delivery also known as cold ironing.
