Why cruise ships using LNG could be worse for the climate in the short term
- Cruise ships using liquefied natural gas instead of oil-based fuel are supposedly a greener way to travel, but methane leakage could be making things worse
- Methane is responsible for about 30 per cent of the planet’s heating and has more than 80 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide in the short term
Cruise operators are replacing oil-based fuel with liquefied natural gas (LNG) to run their ships and are pitching the shift as a greener way to travel.
But an investigation by environmental activists suggests the change could be worse for the climate in the short term.
Although ships burning LNG emit about 25 per cent less carbon dioxide than those burning traditional marine fuels, the vessels often fail to combust all of the invisible gas. That means some of it leaks directly into the atmosphere, where it can have a devastating impact on the climate.
One of the most common engines used on LNG-powered ships leaks 3.1 per cent of its fuel, according to the European Commission.
Using a special camera that can detect the invisible gas, a certified thermographer hired by the Brussels-based non-profit Transport & Environment (T&E) boarded a cruise ship in Barcelona in June as a passenger and filmed large hydrocarbon plumes spewing from the ship’s giant exhaust funnels.