(Marseille) Around twenty environmental activists blocked the entrance to the cruise terminal in the port of Marseille in the south of France on Saturday morning using canoes, in order to denounce the pollution generated by these boats, AFP journalists noted.
The activists were dislodged by the maritime police, who confirmed to AFP that the blockade was “by around ten kayakers” in the early morning, and then the port reopened around 9 a.m. (3 a.m. Eastern time).
Early in the morning the ship Aidastellafrom the German company Aida, had to turn back, 12 canoes having positioned themselves at the entrance to the northern harbor of Marseille, thus preventing it from entering the port. This ship with a capacity of approximately 2000 people is waiting nearby.
Two other cruise ships including the MSC World Europathe sixth largest cruise ship in the world (more than 2,600 cabins, 6,000 passengers, 13 restaurants, a shopping center) and the Costa Smeralda are visible offshore and should in principle arrive Saturday morning in Marseille, the second largest city in France.
The Stop Cruises collective denounces “the air pollution caused by these ships, real cities on the water”, with a “negative impact on the health of populations and marine biodiversity”. The collective also denounces the working conditions on board.
PHOTO CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The Stop Cruises collective denounces, among other things, the working conditions on board.
The Cruise Industry International Association (CLIA) “strongly” condemned the blockade in an email to AFP, describing it as “illegal and dangerous, by a handful of activists, whatever their opinions.” It added that “maritime transport, of which cruises represent 5% in Marseille, is continuing its tireless efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in its activities.”
In 2022, the port of Marseille welcomed 1.5 million cruise passengers and 2.5 million last year, according to the city’s tourism observatory.
Hostility is growing in Europe towards the cruise industry, a source of income for stopover cities but considered harmful to the health of local residents and the environment. In recent years, Venice and Amsterdam have banned the giants of the sea from their city centres.
The Stop Cruises collective is the result of an awareness during the COVID-19 crisis.
“While everywhere in France we were seeing videos of nature reclaiming its rights, little birds in the city and other picturesque images, some districts of Marseille were recording even more polluted air, due to the number of cruise ships confined to the quay and forced to run their engines,” explained Andrea, one of its members who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of legal action.
In March 2023, associations and residents of the port of Marseille filed a complaint against unknown persons against the impacts of pollution linked to maritime traffic in port facilities, with the atmospheric pollution thresholds authorized by European legislation being regularly exceeded in the urban area.
Maritime activities are responsible for 39% of nitrogen dioxide emissions (NOx, an air pollutant) in the Marseille metropolitan area, just behind road traffic (45%), according to AtmoSud, an air quality measurement organization.