Cruise ships' air pollution sparks calls for Government to sign international rules

October 25, 2018

This season alone, the number of cruise liners to visit New Zealand has increased by more than a third.

Calls are growing for the Government to place restrictions on emissions from ships amid concerns about the damage the increasing number of cruise liners is doing to the environment.

This season alone the number of cruise ships to visit our shores has increased by more than a third on last year. 

Dunedin will see 121 cruise ships this season, 32 more than last year.

New figures from Statistics New Zealand show shipping is responsible for a fifth of this country's sulphur dioxide emissions.

That effects human health and climate change, and is solvable, said James Shaw, Green Party co-leader and Climate Change Minister.

Lawyer Bevan Marten told 1 NEWS New Zealand is one of the last countries in the world without rules on shipping air pollution and which hasn't signed a key international agreement called Marpol Annex Six.

The agreement is a set of rules that mean ships must keep their sulphur content from dirty fuel below 0.5 per cent by the year 2020.

"Marpol Annex Six has been adopted by 91 states around the world, representing 97 per cent of world shipping by tonnage. New Zealand is the only OECD country apart from Mexico not to have adopted this set of rules," Mr Marten said.

There are currently no restrictions when it comes to docking in New Zealand.

"Two years ago I asked the Minister of Transport, then Simon Bridges, 'Are you looking into this?' And they said, 'Sure we'll look into this.' More than two years later we have Green MPs in charge and nothing's happening," Mr Marten said.

Mr Shaw said he hopes the Government will be able to sign up to the agreement soon.

Mr Marten says not signing up to the shipping pollution rules "means we don't have any credibility when it comes to talking about broader issues in air pollution and climate change".

Port Otago says the cruise ship liners are starting to make adjustments. 

"They're interested in keeping the environment pristine, because that's what they sell," said Sean Bolt of Port Otago.

The clock, though, continues to tick for the Government, with the minister hoping New Zealand will sign up to the agreement early next year.

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