Amsterdam, a cruise ship blocked by Extinction Rebellion

Extinction Rebellion activists protested against the cruise ship “Serenade of the Seas” by preventing it from docking in the port of Amsterdam.

A cruise ship was blocked on the morning of Sunday 18 August at the port of Amsterdam.Some activists from the ecological organization organized the protest Extinction Rebellion, That they prevented the ship to reach the Dutch city, denouncing the enormous ienvironmental and climate impact of this type of vessel.

Cruise ships incompatible with saving the climate

This is the second action of this type organized by the militants, according to whom the tourist model proposed by cruises is incompatible with the battle against climate changes, taking into account the emissions of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by engines.Added to this is the environmental impact e healthcare in the ports where boats dock: according to one study of the non-governmental organization Transport & Environment, cruise ships alone that cross European waters emit more than 8 million tons of CO2 every year (2022 data).That is, the equivalent of approximately 50 thousand flights between Rome and New York.

Another previous study, from the same NGO, had explained that the only shipping company Carnival Corporation, had emitted in 2017 a quantity of sulfur oxide ten times higher than that produced in the same year by the entire European car fleet.Or something like 260 million vehicles. Multiplied by ten, in fact.And this with a fleet of "only" 94 ships (of which only half are operational in the Old Continent).

A “floating condominium” for 2,100 passengers and 900 crew members

Crazy numbers, in short.Yet cruise ships are being built more and more, and bigger and bigger.Hence the action conducted at the port of Amsterdam, whose spokesperson Carlijn van Essen he told the AFP agency that the militants this time blocked the "Serenade of the Sea", an immense "floating condominium" with around a thousand cabins, of the American-Norwegian company Royal Caribbean.

A mastodon almost long 300 meters, heavy beyond 90 thousand tons, capable of carrying 2,100 passengers and nearly 900 crew members.And flying the flag of Bahamas.At the same time, again according to what was reported by the Dutch port authorities, an oil tanker was also blocked.