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The Mediterranean city of Cannes, known for its prestigious international film festival, will ban the most pollution cruise ships from next year in an effort to improve air quality in the city.

France’s fourth-largest cruise-ship port, which received 370,000 visitors by this mode of transportation in 2018, will close its docks to ships that exceed a 0.1 per cent sulfur cap in their fuel emissions.

“It’s not about being against cruise ships, it’s about being against pollution,” said Mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, to Reuters news.

“I decided, if I can’t do anything at sea— since the mayor does not have jurisdiction in areas beyond 300 metres of the coast and these boats are much further away than 300 metres— I said that we will no longer accept tour buses and cruise ship passengers on the ground coming from cruise ships.

“It’s a bit borderline regarding the law, but the fact that we own up to a potential polemic allows us to work intelligently with cruise ship companies,” he continued.

In June this year, Mayor Lisnard submitted a proposal to France’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippe urging him to give mayors of coastal municipalities the necessary powers to fight marine pollution from ships.

In July, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings signed an agreement with City of Cannes, promising to make its ships more environmentally friendly.

Silversea Cruises is also planning improvements to its fleet, according to Silversea Cruises’ CEO Roberto Martinoli.

“At the end of the summer, we will go into our maintenance cycle… we will implement changes to the engine to make them comply with the latest environmental regulations,” Martinoli told Reuters.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the industry’s main trade association, expects 30 million passengers to cruise on almost 300 ships this year, almost double the number from a decade ago.

Cannes, France, to ban some cruise ships – CNN

Banner photo by Kazimierz Mendlik

France’s city of Cannes to ban polluting cruise ships: