Cruise Ships Using Rescue Boats for Sightseeing

By The Maritime Executive 08-04-2014 02:53:00

The Iceland Review reports that the Icelandic Coast Guard is looking into the practice of cruise ships using their vessel’s rescue boats to take passengers on sightseeing trips in the country.

Landings can be dangerous along some parts of the coastline, and there is a concern that there are no local guides on board. Captain Haukur Vagnsson has witnessed the practice and says he is also concerned that weather can change very quickly in the region.



Cruise ships came under criticism last week after an International Association of Ports and Harbors report was released estimating that a cruise ship in port for 24 hours emits the same amount of nitrogen as 10,000 cars. Currently there are concerns that Icelandic law is not doing enough to curb emissions in port.

Over 100,000 cruise ship passengers are expected to come to Iceland next year on around 90 scheduled tours. The industry has grown over the last decade, as has the size of the ships arriving. In 2003, 50 cruise ships carrying 31,000 passengers docked at Reykjavík harbor. That number grew to 80 ships with 92,000 passengers in 2013.