Climate activists have caused a delay in the departure of the Holland America Line-operated cruise ship Zuiderdam from Kiel, Germany.
Activists from the group Smash Cruiseshit blocked the cruise ship’s departure by 7 hours on June 9, before being removed from the scene by the police.
The group said on Twitter that 50 activists gathered to block access to the bollards in an action aimed at highlighting the pollution caused by the cruise ship industry.
The group further said that they organized the action because workers on the ships are being paid EUR 2 per hour while the countries they come from suffer from the climate changes.
The blockade started in the afternoon and ended at around 10:15 pm, after the police detained 32 people, according to the group.
Wir sind alle wieder frei, aber unsere Boote nicht. Wer unsere Aktion gut fand und uns bei der Finanzierung unterstützen möchte kann #smashcruiseshit spenden: Konto: Spenden & Aktionen IBAN: DE29 5139 0000 0092 8818 06 BIC: VBMHDE5FXXX Betreff: Kreuzfahrt #kreuzfahrt #klima pic.twitter.com/qEFFN4IGrx
— Kreuzfahrtschiffe (k)entern (@smashcruiseshit) June 10, 2019
After leaving Kiel, the 2001-built Zuiderdam called at Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 10 and departed on the same day, according to AIS data. World Maritime News has reached out to Holland America Line to ask whether the blockade affected the ship’s itinerary. The company is yet to respond to the inquiry.
The blockade took place days after a new report identified European countries and ports most affected by cruise ships’ sulphur oxide emissions.
World Maritime News Staff