How does the Cruise Industry work with sustainability?

As Norway’s biggest cruise port, it is pivotal for Bergen that cruise industry works towards a sustainable future. But how is the cruise industry in Bergen working to become sustainable?  

 A world-leading port

The port of Bergen is working to create a more environmentally friendly cruise industry and several steps have been taken to lower the emissions connected to the harbor. The port of Bergen has one of the largest shore power facilities in Europe, where ships of all sizes can connect and draw electricity. The shore power facilities allow up to three cruise ships to be connected to power at the same time. When ships are connected to shore power, they do not need to run their engines to power the ship while at port, this reduces their emissions and improve the air quality in Bergen. The port of Bergen has also taken part in developing a system aimed at incentivizing cruise liners to reduce their emissions. The system is called EPI (Environmental Port Index), awards ships with lower emissions through cheaper port dues and fees, while ships with larger emissions does not receive this discount. 

The city council of Bergen has also passed several policies to better regulate cruise traffic entering the city. The ambition is to set a demand of zero emissions to all air and sea transportation to and from the city. For cruise ships visiting Bergen this will mean cutting the emissions from sailing in and out of the harbor, as well as the emissions produced while docking. The city council aims to adopt this policy by 2026. 

Eco-friendly cruises 

The cruise industry in Norway has also taken several steps to lower their emissions. Norway is leading the development of green maritime transport, and several actors has already reduced their emissions through acquiring hybrid ships and switching to more environmentally friendly fuels like LNG (liquified natural gas). In Bergen three liners have weekly departures from Bergen: Fjord Line, Hurtigruten and Havila voyages. 

In 2014, Fjordline launched the world’s first and largest cruise ferries that runs exclusively on LNG. LNG or liquified natural gas is a fuel alternative that creates lower total CO2-emissions, in addition it strongly reduces the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). Fjordline’s ships MS Bergensfjord and MS stavangerfjord was given the highest ranking in the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) in 2015. The ships also use the heat from the exhaust to produce electricity for the ship when sailing.

Fjord Line. Photo: Thomas Østberg Jacobsen 

Hurtigruten runs daily transportation between ports along the whole coast of Norway. They have a goal of going fully emission-free by 2050. In 2016 they ordered their first hybrid ships, these ships have electrical motors in addition to conventional fuel motors. Their third hybrid ship was put into operation in 2021, and the company has plans to rebuild their whole fleet to hybrid by 2023. This will, according to Hurtigruten, reduce their total greenhouse gas emissions by 25%.

Havila voyages is a new actor with a fleet consisting only of hybrid ships. Their ships use the largest battery packs in the world and can sail four hours only on electricity. This makes it possible for the ships to sail emission free in vulnerable areas, as well as in and out of ports. By using these battery packs and LNG as fuel, Havila are already cutting 30% of their greenhouse gas emissions. By 2024 Havila estimates that they will be able to cut 80% of their emissions. Their ships are constructed in a way that will make it possible to switch to hydrogen or ammonia when the technology is developed enough to make these viable fuel options. 

Improved Visitor Management  

Sustainable cruise tourism is not just about cutting greenhouse gas emissions, it also concerns improving the management of visitors, to avoid overcrowding of popular spots and attractions. The Bergen city council has passed a daily limitation of 8000 cruise passengers and a maximum of four cruise ships each day, the fourth can only doc if it can connect to shore power. The aim is to ensure that overcrowding does not become a problem.

There are two cruise ports in Bergen, Skoltegrunnskaien and Jekteviken. The port of Bergen has, as a measure to spread cruise traffic, decided that all cruise ships longer than 270 meters must dock at Jekteviken. This port is further away from the city center than Skoltegrunnskaien, with several different routes into the city. The idea is that this will spread out some of the traffic and improve issues of overcrowding around the wharf and fish market. 

Because cruise liners plan their stops in advance and report this to the ports mooring plans, it is easy to know how many cruise tourists will be visiting the city on a given day. This makes it possible to plan for the spreading of visitors. Several local companies design and plan guided tours for cruise tourists. The tours take place both in and outside the city and is an important initiative to reduce overcrowding in the city center. For visitor management purposes it is important that the liners and cruise guests make use of local guides. These tours also serve an important function through informing tourists about how to act responsibly as visitors. 

Guide Emma Vestrheim with a tour group. Foto: Visit Bergen / Casper Steinsland - visitBergen.com 

There is still room for improvement in the efforts to reduce overcrowding. Working towards better coordination between guide companies and developing better tools for visitor management is something the whole destination is working towards improving together.

Another issue is the opening hours of attractions in the city. Many sights are closed on Mondays, and opening hours are further reduced during the winter season. A goal of the destination is to spread traffic from summer into winter, making Bergen a more attractive year-round destination. To achieve this goal, we need to work towards widening the opening hours of the city’s attractions. This will help spread traffic and ensure that overcrowding of sites is reduced or avoided.

The Economic Impact of the Cruise Industry in Bergen

Cruise tourists have been criticized for leaving little money in the local communities they visit. Menon economics estimated in 2019 that the total economical imprint of an average cruise tourist visiting Bergen is about 1214 NOK. 1060 NOK is money tourists use on activities, goods and services bought in the city. In comparison business travelers have an average daily consumption of 2500kr. Nevertheless, the total consumption of cruise tourists in 2018 created a turnover of around 550 million NOK. About 10% of the total turnover of the tourist industry in Bergen during this period. 

Increasing the earnings from the cruise industry is important. One measure we can take is to increase the amount of time cruise ships spend docked in Bergen. If ships spend just one more day in port, it will be easier to spread traffic on the most popular attractions. Additionally, cruise tourists will have more time to explore the sites and offerings of the city, and will spend more in local stores, restaurants, and sights. 

Another measure is to make Bergen an attractive turning port for cruise liners. A turning port is where one cruise ends, and a new begins. This will increase the spending of cruise tourists because they are likely to spend more time in the city. Perhaps arriving a few days before the cruise starts to experience the city before boarding the ship. Viking cruises is one liner currently using Bergen as a turning port for some of their cruises. 

There is still a long way to go before the cruise industry reaches zero emissions. Norwegian actors are nonetheless doing an important job, developing and testing the technologies that are necessary to reach these goals. Bergen wishes to go forward as an example in the work towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly cruise industry.  

Read more about how the tourism industry in Bergen and Bergen as a destination works with sustainable development.