Hamburg celebrates the cruise and hundreds of thousands of visitors will make it a true spectacle. Environmental groups criticize the Hamburg Cruise Days as a false Signal in the climate debate.
Already days before the giant spectacle of the Hamburg port city illuminated in a magical looking dark blue. The light artist Michael Batz staged, the buildings and bridges of the city on the Elbe for years. His project “Blue Port Hamburg” is designed to prepare residents and tourists alike to the one of the biggest Events to offer, the Hamburg, the Hamburg Cruise Days.
This weekend (13.-15. September) will take place the large-scale Party of the cruise industry for the seventh Time. And as the industry itself, and the growing event. Twelve ships this weekend – a new record. Highlight of the Cruise Days in the big Parade on Saturday evening, when five cruise ships in a row, along with numerous escort ships under a pompous fireworks at the harbour edge. With around half a Million visitors. Who can’t be in Hamburg, you can follow the exhibition giants of the ocean on live television.
The Cruise Days are a visual spectacle – environmental associations criticize the show run of the harmful to the climate, the ocean giant
Criticism from environmental associations are not broken
However, not all are looking forward to the cruise Party. Environmental groups criticize the Cruise Days for years. Malte Siegert, head of the Department of natural and environmental policy NABU Hamburg, thinks it’s a “fun event, which is a burden to Hamburg air unnecessarily.” In an interview with DW, he criticized that the organizers would not educate people about the health risks of the event, although they were aware of them. “This is a total failure of politics and administration,” says Siegert.
The organizers argue: “We can’t warn the guests, because we know, whether there will be this increased pollutant load at all,” says Katja Derow, the head of the PR-Agency “redroses communications”, the the Cruise Days are organized together with the “Bergmann group” on behalf of the city of Hamburg. During the port birthday in may, the limits had not been exceeded, even though this was a far greater event than the Cruise Days, explains Derow compared to the DW. In addition, the ships of Hamburg started this weekend anyway, says the organiser: “The only difference is that we make an Event out of it.”
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But why it takes such an event at all? The origin of the Cruise Days, go back to the enthusiasm of the Hamburg-based cruise ships on their desire to travel, her Wanderlust, explains Derow. In the process, another reason seems to be much more important For the city, the cruise ships are a good business. Hamburg wants to establish itself in the highly competitive market as an international cruise destination said.
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The NABU criticized the industry in Hamburg “the red carpet would be rolled out”, and calls on the shipping companies should put a significantly larger share of their lush profits in the climate compatibility of their ships. Although in particular the German shipping companies have already taken the first steps in this direction, the balance of the current NABU-cruise rankings bleak. The majority of the world’s nearly 400 cruise ships still drives with highly toxic heavy fuel oil. And also the marine diesel, on the the ships go in port, contains 100 Times more sulphur than Diesel passenger cars. In addition, the visits of cruise tourists to strain some of the cities so that the local resistance, and the cities, the number of giant cruisers in their ports, to reduce increasingly.
Cruise Days want to go ahead with good example
The issue of sustainability is a key challenge for the cruise, the industry was well aware of, says Cruise-Days-organiser Katja Derow. Therefore, the Event will not be this year, only advertising for Hamburg as a cruise destination, but also the impact of cruise tourism on the environment, climate and destinations in the to take a look. The organizers will provide a Forum in which tourism experts, representatives of winter cities and a pioneer of clean drive, are able to exchange technologies.
Dirty business: the majority of The cruise ships is still driving with heavy fuel oil
Environmental activists like Malte Siegert from Hamburg NABU, this is not enough. He calls for would have to be: “The minimum in an event, only ships invite to make significantly more than is required by law, to make the Event a showcase for better, cleaner technology.”
Organiser Katja Derow like the idea and was optimistic: “I hope and believe, indeed, that these issues on the Hamburg Cruise Days will be in ten years’ time no longer an issue.” The industry was enormously innovative and implement their innovations effectively.
The debate about the negative impact of cruise tourism is likely to continue, at least up to the Hamburg Cruise Days 2029.