On board canoes, members of the Stop Cruises and Extinction Rebellion collective blocked the arrival of cruise ships at the port of Marseille on Saturday, September 21 for almost two hours, denouncing the ” pollution “ caused by these marine giants. They were evicted by the maritime gendarmerie, which confirmed this blockage to Agence France-Presse. “for about ten kayakers” early in the morning and then the port reopening around 9 am
At least three cruise ships and a ferry from Corsica had to wait at sea for this action, which is unusual in one of France’s largest ports. At around 7 a.m., the Aidastella ship, belonging to the German cruise line Aida, had to turn around: twelve canoes had positioned themselves at the entrance to the northern port of Marseille, thus preventing it from entering the port. The ship, which can accommodate around 2,000 people and was due to stop in France’s second largest city during a weekend that was expected to be very touristy, waited for nearly two hours.
Two other cruise ships, including the MSC World Europa, the sixth largest ocean liner in the world (more than 2,600 cabins, 6,000 passengers, 13 restaurants, a shopping centre) and the Costa Smeralda, which were originally due to dock in Marseille on Saturday morning, had to wait offshore and were finally allowed to enter the port at around 9:30 a.m. A ferry from Corsica also had to wait.
In their inflatable kayaks, lined up, the twenty activists equipped with life jackets had displayed banners like “it smells like gasoline” EITHER “We are very angry with MSC Cruises”. Stop cruises denounce “Air pollution caused by these ships, real cities on water”with an impact “negative for the health of populations and marine biodiversity”said a spokesman for Agence France-Presse. The group also denounced the working conditions on board.
Eight million tons of CO2 from 2022
In 2022, the port of Marseille welcomed 1.5 million cruise passengers, up from 2.5 million last year, according to the Marseille city tourism observatory. In Europe, hostility is growing towards the cruise industry, a source of income for port cities but considered harmful to the health of local residents and the environment due to its gigantism. In recent years, Venice and Amsterdam have banned the presence of marine giants in the centre of their cities.
According to a study by the NGO Transport and Environment, cruise ships sailing in European waters in 2022 will have emitted more than eight million tons of CO2the equivalent of 50,000 Paris-New York flights.
Maritime activities are responsible for 39% of nitrogen dioxide emissions (NOx, an air pollutant) in the Marseille metropolis, just behind road traffic (45%), according to AtmoSud, an organisation that measures air quality. In March 2023, associations and residents of the port of Marseille filed a complaint against .
