Cannes bans polluting cruise ships detracting from beach air quality

Around 370000 tourists arrive in Cannes by cruise ship every year. Photo / Flickr.com

The city of Cannes which is home to the south of France's most glamorous beaches and the country's fourth-largest port has banned the dirtiest of cruise vessels from its waters.

The move which is a bid to increase air quality in the city will ban ships which breach a 0.1 per cent cap on fuel Sulphur content.

This could mean that some ships are forced to reroute itineraries, stopping some passengers from disembarking on the red carpets of the town which is famous for its glitzy film festival.

"It's not about being against cruise ships. It's about being against pollution," said Cannes Mayor David Lisnard on Reuters TV.

A similar ban on Sulphur contaminants in ship fuel are already in place in parts of northern Europe, however it's being adopted by the Mediterranean.

Je propose au Premier ministre de doter les Maires des communes du littoral d’un pouvoir de police afin de lutter contre les pollutions marines des paquebots. Les propositions à lire là : https://t.co/7B8EZ3cBU8

— David Lisnard (@davidlisnard) June 21, 2019

Historically ships have run on oil that is around 2000 times dirtier than the diesel used to fuel vehicles.

"We will no longer accept cruise ship passengers coming from polluting cruise ships," Lisnard told media.

Taking to twitter the Mayor said the proposal was linked to a wider call to cut marine pollution, proposed by the French prime minister Edouard Philippe.

Nearby Saint-Raphaël, on the route to St Tropez, is another French Mediterranean port that is considering adopting the pollution rules.

While air pollution is one problem, many popular Mediterranean destinations see the cruise ships themselves as the main problem.

'It's not about being against cruise ships. It's about being against pollution' Photo / Flickr.com, Hiroyuki Nakano

Three months ago the Italian conservation group Italian Nostra called for cities like Venice to be put on a UN list of "endangered cities" and that large ships be banned from its fragile lagoon.

Around 370000 tourists arrive in Cannes by cruise ship every year, making it the fourth busiest in the country.

It is hard to say how many ships this will reduce arriving in the port. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which accounts for 40 per cent of the port's cruise traffic has signed a pledge to make its ships more environmentally friendly.