EMEA News
New Cruise Port Brings Pollution Threat to Heart of London
A new cruise terminal to be built at Enderby Wharf in the London Borough of Greenwich has upset local residents who say levels of air pollution from docked cruise ships are unacceptable.
The Thames Estuary comes within an emissions control area where ships must use bunker fuel capped at 0.1% sulfur. But that stipulation doesn't include pollution from particulates while, compared to road traffic, 0.1% sulfur remains high, campaigners say.
The local campaign follows in the footsteps of other attempts around the world to keep a cap on emissions from ships docking close to urban areas, a recent example being at Sydney, Australia.
The Greenwich group, under the banner No toxic cruise port for London, is seeking a cold ironing solution to the emissions threat. This would allow ships to plug in to a shoreside electricity supply and cut their auxiliary engines which are kept running while they are stationary.
The method of shore power has been adopted by a number of port cities including Los Angeles and Hamburg.
