The end of diesel-powered cruise ships in Norway's fjords from 2026
Every year, around 6.4 million passengers travel on cruise ships in Norway. From 2026, only zero-emission ships will be allowed to sail into the most famous fjords, where they will not be allowed to discharge waste water or burn manure on board. Dirt-slingers must stay outside. This is intended to reduce the high levels of pollutant emissions, especially in the summer months. Since 2020, the emission limits for cruise ships in Norway have been lowered in several stages. This has triggered a surge in innovation in the shipping industry. In 2022, a cruise ship sailed emission-free in the Geirangerfjords for the first time. Norway has long been a world leader in zero-emission ferries.
The Geirangerfjorden
It is the most famous fjord in Norway and, together with Nærøyfjorden, Aurlandsfjorden, Sunnylvsfjorden and Tafjorden, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This side arm of the Stofjord, which comprises three villages with 4,600 inhabitants, is visited by around 360,000 cruise tourists every year. In addition, there are 12,000 bus tourists every day (in the summer months), making a total of 1.14 million travelers per year.
The problem is that the rush is concentrated in the three summer months and the floating luxury hotels leave behind sulphur and nitrogen oxides as well as particulate matter long after their departure. "With 5000 to 6000 cruise passengers a day, we are at the limit," said Rita Berstad Maraak from Geiranger Cruiser Port at a conference in 2017. "The exhaust clouds are destroying nature and the traffic has become so dense that the attraction value is slowly disappearing," said the Environment Minister in 2019.
On the other hand, the aim is to prevent a shift to buses and cars. The roads are winding and narrow and in summer are often congested by the masses of tourists in the narrow fjord. Which is why not everyone is happy with the law.
Emission-free by 2026
By 2026, shipping companies will be obliged to adapt the pollutant emissions of ships sailing in the Geiranger and Nærøyfjord to the latest environmental technology. The adoption of the draft law also supports the Norwegian government's efforts to reduceCO2 emissions by 40 percent by 2030. "The new rules are an important contribution to environmentally friendly shipping," said Environment Minister Ola Elvestuen in 2019 when the law was passed. "This will reduce emissions in the air and water from the increasing cruise traffic in the fjords of the World Heritage Site."
In order to comply with the sulphur limit, ships are allowed to use fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.1 percent , i.e. marine diesel instead of the previous heavy fuel oil. These environmental regulations have already been in force in the North Sea and Baltic Sea for several years. Or the ships must have closed exhaust gas scrubbing systems or a hybrid exhaust gas system with closed mode.
From 2026, all ships entering the fjords must be emission-free.
Refitting the ships
The shipping companies are now working on solutions to make their ships emission-free. This involves major investments. On the one hand, many have already switched to liquefied natural gas (LNG), often in combination with an electric drive. This was also the case with the Havila Castor of the Norwegian cruise company Havila Kystruten, which was the first cruise ship to sail emission-free into the Geirangerfjord last year.
However, according to NABU shipping expert Sönke Diesener, liquefied natural gas also brings problems with it, such as the drastic increase in methane emissions due to LNG use. In the short term, these emissions are over 80 times more harmful to the climate than CO₂.
In June 2023, Hurtigruten presented its plans for a zero-emission cruise ship that will combine electric propulsion with solar panels and wind propulsion from sails. The first example of Norwegian Hurtigruten's Sea Zero project is due to set sail in 2030.
Green hydrogen and synthetic methanol are also planned as the basis for emission-free propulsion systems for kimeneutral operation - Norwegian Cruise Lines, for example, has ordered ships that rely on this option.
E-ferries since 2015
Norway has long been a world leader in zero-emission ferries and has set global standards in this respect. Since 2015, the 8o-metre-long electrically powered "Ampere" from the Nordled shipping company has been operating up to 30 times a day on the six-kilometre route between Lavik and Oppedal. The operators claim that the all-electric ferry reduces emissions by 95% and costs by 80%.
In May 2018, the e-ferry "Future of the Fjords" was put into service by the Norwegian tour operator The Fjords, with space for 400 passengers. It commutes between Gudvangen and Flåm in the Nærøy and Aurlandsfjord.
