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Environmental activists block France's main cruise ship port

2024-09-21 17:11:24, Kosova & Bota CNA

Environmental activists block France's main cruise ship port

Environmental activists blockaded France's main cruise ship port in the southern city of Marseille on September 21 to protest the sea, air and climate pollution caused by the large ships.

About 20 members of the Marseille-based groups Extinction Rebellion and Stop Croisieres formed a chain of canoes in the water, blocking the entrance to the port, an AFP news agency correspondent reported.

The protest caused one ship to turn back at 7:00 a.m. and stop farther offshore. Other ships remained waiting outside the harbor until around 9:30 am.

The activists were driven away by authorities, and the port was later reopened, according to maritime authorities who spoke to AFP.

"Our air, our seas and our health are non-negotiable," the Stop Croisieres group said on its website.

They criticized the ship for its heavy use of oil, the destruction of ocean and coastal fauna, the ships' impact on the climate and the poor working conditions for employees on board.

The protest stopped the Aidastella ship, which is owned by a German company and is carrying around 2,000 people, from arriving at the port around 7:00 am.

Costa Smeralda and MSC World Europa were also forced to wait before entering port.

MSC World Europa is the sixth largest passenger ship in the world. It can hold 6,000 passengers and has more than 2,600 cabins, as well as 13 restaurants and a shopping mall.

The International Association of Cruise Lines condemned the protest as "illegal and dangerous".

In an email to AFP, she argued that the cruise ship industry is struggling to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

Marseille is the center of a developed cruise ship industry in France.

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of cruise ship passengers entering the port increased from 1.5 million to 2.5 million, according to the Marseille tourism observatory./ REL





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