Taking the slow boat to almost anywhere is likely to be a more eco-friendly alternative to flying, but by signing up to an ocean voyage are you endorsing the heavily polluting shipping industry?

Andy Whitehouse of Strand Voyages (strandtravel.co.uk), which specialises in providing voyages on cargo ships, says he has recently seen a “significant rise” in the number of people booking trips on container ships and bulk carriers. He says that as the ships will be carrying freight anyway passengers are not adding to the carbon footprint of the journey, though he admits that most people only do the cargo trip one way, choosing to fly on the return leg. And while some ships have a DVD library, bar and often a small exercise room, the trip is no lap of luxury. “You’re generally left to your own devices to provide entertainment, he said. “The cargo is first, passengers are a definite second.”

Jack Guest, who runs a website dedicated to the environmental benefits of “slow tourism” (flyless.info), [Note from GreenTraveller.co.uk’s editor: this site no longer exists] is next week taking a cargo ship to Canada. The 19-day round trip is costing him £1,600. So why did he choose it? “Because I can no longer justify flying,” he said, “and because of the ‘epicness’ of the journey – it really puts the world back into perspective”.

This article, by Richard Hammond, was first published in the Guardian.

See also previous comments on travelling by cargo ship.