Most of the indices measured over 12 months received a classification of “Very Good” or “Good”

Lisbon, September 27, 2024: On World Tourism Day, the APL – Port of Lisbon Administration reveals that air quality levels in the Lisbon Port Cruise Terminal area remained within the legal limits established by national legislation between September 2022 and August 2023.

The President of APL, Carlos Correia, highlighted that "the results of the daily Air Quality Index (IQAr) in the Port of Lisbon show, for all measurement points, majority classifications of 'Very Good' and/or 'Good.' At certain times, classifications of 'Moderate' or 'Poor' were recorded, with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) being the main factors responsible for these variations."

This air quality monitoring in the Cruise Terminal area was carried out continuously over the course of a year and in different locations as part of preliminary results from a technical study conducted by a laboratory accredited for air quality monitoring. The study is part of the Air Quality Monitoring Plan for Cruise Activity at the Port of Lisbon, following evaluation criteria from the Portuguese Environmental Agency, with the final version of the report to be presented soon by APL.

Port of Lisbon reinforces its commitment to green maritime transition
As recently reported, APL has strengthened its commitment to the green maritime transition by investing 31 million euros in electrifying the Cruise Terminal with the Onshore Power Supply (OPS) project, set to be operational in 2026. This investment demonstrates the Port of Lisbon's commitment to promoting sustainable practices to reduce the environmental impact of port activities, allowing docked cruise ships to connect to the onshore power grid, enabling them to shut down their engines while in port and thus reduce CO2 emissions.

The shore power technology, used in the sector for over 20 years, is now available in 60% of the cruise fleet (146 ships), a nearly 20% increase compared to 2022. By 2028, it is expected that a total of 239 ships will have this capability.

Cruise industry invests in decarbonization
According to data released this summer by CLIA – Cruise Lines International Association, the industry and cruise companies are heavily investing in decarbonization, developing new ships and engine technologies to use low or zero-emission fuels.

An example of this is the reduction in the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO), from 74% in 2019 to 54% in 2023 (Source: International Maritime Organization report on fuel oil consumption data submitted to the IMO GISIS ship fuel oil consumption database, reference year 2023).

In Europe, these initiatives have already resulted in an average 16% reduction in CO2 emissions per ship, demonstrating that the sector's growth can be decoupled from emissions increases. Since 2019, there has been a 16% reduction in average emissions per ship, and by 2028, it is expected that 72% of the global fleet will be equipped to use shore power. These figures were confirmed by CLIA’s latest annual sustainability report, released in September 2024, which summarizes the results of this ongoing investment in sustainable solutions.

These examples, highlighted on World Tourism Day, reveal the changes in cruise travel as part of a collective effort by ports, operators, companies, and the cruise industry. These changes reflect a continuous global and local concern with energy adaptation and the adjustment of the world fleet to achieve zero-emission navigation by 2050.

For more information, visit:

Port of Lisbon

Annual data on technologies and environmental practices in the cruise industry
Data Table – Technologies and solutions in the cruise ship fleet

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