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Air

Most cruise ships traveling to Alaska have onboard opacity monitoring technology to observe air emissions. The data collected is very useful in helping the environmental officers and engineers improve their systems and monitor compliance with state and federal laws.

Like the airline industry, the cruise industry is acutely aware of concerns about air quality and emissions, and ACA member lines are taking steps to minimize their environmental impact. Alaska is the first cruise destination to partner with cruise lines to allow ships to plug in to local shoreside power while docked in communities with sufficient infrastructure. In Juneau, shore power is available at one dock, allowing the vessel moored there to reduce emissions by plugging into the city’s hydroelectric power. This practice, which results in a significant reduction in fuel emissions, is now being adopted by cruise ports around the world.

In addition, the industry has invested in emission scrubber technology to test its effectiveness on ships, as well as many energy conservation efforts, including improved hull designs and environmental friendly coatings, better power management, and energy efficient appliances.

Cruise ship emissions are monitored by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation using methods developed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Plug-in to shore ship and station

Princess pioneered the use of shore power when it developed infrastructure in Juneau to use surplus hydroelectric power. The company also shuts down the ship’s oil-fired boiler and produces steam from an electric shoreside boiler. Using shore power has become increasingly popular around the world.