How green is a ferry?

Thanks to international shipping conventions, ferries have done much to clean up their act in terms of waste disposal and engine pollution, though their carbon emissions vary according to type...

The sheer numbers of passengers on a conventional cross-channel ferry mean that emissions per person will be a low, and as many piggy back on freight services you’re actual carbon footprint is likely to be minimal. According to carbon consultancy co2balance, a standard car ferry emits just 10kg of C02 per foot passenger for a return trip Dover-Calais. High-speed ferries, such as the catamarans that travel out to the Channel Islands, use engines that have a higher carbon count, and especially when you take into account the additional energy these and other large ferries require to power cabins, bars and nightclubs, they start to lose their green shine. However, compared with short-haul flying even these powerhouses are likely to come up greener because their emissions aren’t at high altitude where carbon emissions exert a greater effect on climate change. You can now offset emissions for most UK ferry routes via a new online ferry booking service, ferrygreen.com. An edited version of this article, by Richard Hammond, was first published in the Guardian.