NABU Cruise Ranking

Environmental and climate protection still not in the focus of companies

NABU Cruise Ranking 2024

Where do shipping companies stand in terms of climate and environmental protection?

Even the front-runners in this year's ranking do not offer a cruise that does not harm the environment and climate. The climate and environment continue to suffer from the use of fossil fuels. The greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane are fueling climate change. Sulphur, nitrogen oxides and soot not only pollute the environment, but also the health of people along the coasts.

However, some companies are showing what the future of cruises could look like. Fuel-saving measures are currently having the fastest impact: they are already available to all shipping companies, can be applied fleet-wide within a short time and offer the potential to save more than half of the fuel.

The frontrunners can distinguish themselves through a variety of measures: Batteries, energy-saving designs, slower speed, and optimization of technology from hull to propeller efficiently reduces the need for fossil fuels. Another key factor is the use of shore power, which makes it possible to completely dispense with engines during berthing times. In many places, this is currently not being utilized due to a lack of supply. Harbor cities such as Hamburg, Kiel and Rostock are leading the way, having installed suitable systems at an early stage. The reduction of exhaust emissions in the harbors benefits both the climate and all residents.

NABU Cruise Ranking 2023

Cruise ships and climate protection remain incompatible

The forerunners of this year's ranking are still a long way off from the ideal of a cruise that travellers could take in good conscience. However, there are initial promising signals that give hope for the ultimate realisation of an environmentally friendly cruise. In particular, providers of smaller cruise ship experiences are making progress on climate and environmental protection, as seen with this year's ranking leaders, the Norwegian companies Hurtigruten and Havila.

Another positive development is that companies can no longer afford to neglect taking any measures to reduce emissions – the gaps in the middle of the ranking pack are closing on this point. But there are still significant differences between the cruise lines, as well as within the individual company fleets. Especially existing ships show little movement towards becoming cleaner. Improvements are almost exclusively implemented on new ships.

NABU Cruise Ranking 2022

Environmental and climate protection still not in the focus of companies

In the tenth year of the cruise ranking, the results once again show that environmental and climate protection are still not at the forefront of cruise companies' ship operations and new construction. Heavy fuel oil continues to be the fuel of choice for the majority of the existing fleets. Only a few truly future-proof projects are in the planning and implementation stages.

The results of the NABU cruise ranking show that the shipping companies are still doing far too little to protect the environment, nature, and the climate. With the ranking, NABU assessed the implemented measures and intentions of cruise operators on the way to a clean climate-neutral cruise based on NABU's roadmap until 2040. Nineteen cruise lines were surveyed, and a total of 17 points were scored. However, first-placed Hurtigruten Norway, the Norwegian mail-ship line, achieved just half of the possible points, with all other companies ranking behind it. Among the top five are the three German companies AIDA, Hapag Lloyd Kreuzfahrten and TUI Cruises, which can be considered pioneers, especially for measures on large and very large ships, provided that the tentative attempts toward greater climate friendliness are implemented on a larger scale soon. However, the results also show that the companies are mainly coming up with fine words and announcements, but so far little has been implemented in concrete terms to improve the situation.

NABU Cruise Ranking Archive

2012-2024