Some cruise ships, including those that visit the Port of Napier, could come under pressure to clean up their act as officials say their low-grade, dirty fuel emissions are compounding Auckland's air pollution problem.
With a new $27 million cruise ship terminal planned on Auckland's waterfront and the luxury cruise market still growing, the Auckland Council's environment forum is keen to make sure that the environmental impact of mega-liners is accounted for. Large container ships may also be scrutinised on their emissions.
At least 80 cruise ships are expected to dock in Auckland's port this year and more than 70 in Napier this season.
A report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment cited research which said the smokestack and exhaust emissions produced in one day by a single cruise ship (while in motion) were equivalent to those produced by 10,000-12,000 cars.
Environment and sustainability forum chairman Wayne Walker said cruise ships played an important role in Auckland's economy, but their mostly unchecked pollution in downtown Auckland needed to be addressed.
"The stuff that they're burning is the type of oil that the Rena went down with - it's like Marmite, it's pretty low grade, and frankly not good at all in terms of emissions. We need to work with Ports of Auckland to do something about it."
The Government, not the council, was in charge of regulating shipping emissions, but Mr Walker said he was keen to work with Government to find a national solution.
He cited the example of Maersk shipping, which last year began switching to a low-sulphur fuel while it was in port. Its container ships now emitted 80 per cent less sulphur dioxide while they were docked.
Cruise New Zealand managing director Craig Harris stressed that cruise ships only made up a small proportion of ship calls at Ports of Auckland. He said the cruise companies were aware of the environmental impact of their fuel, and many were moving to petrol-like fuels because of international pressure.
He said the US Government was expected to ban the burning of sulphur-heavy fuels within 200 miles (321km) of its shores next year, and New Zealand could follow suit.
"The New Zealand Government, at some stage, will become a signatory to that law. You can pretty well say that 80 or 90 per cent of the world's cruise ship grounds will move very quickly to this 200-mile limit.
Mr Walker said another option would be to allow ships to plug into Auckland's electricity grid while they were idling in port, instead of burning fuels to keep their refrigeration or air conditioning going.
Ports of Auckland said it would not object to New Zealand-wide regulation on dirty fuels, but said providing electricity for ships via the grid was prohibitively costly and complex.
BIG BUSINESS
672 visits from cruise ships in all ports across New Zealand.
Ships which burn fuels high in sulphur emit the same emissions as 10,000-12,000 cars a day.
Ships are exempt from emissions regulation under the Resource Management Act.
Cruise ships also produce around seven tonnes of rubbish a day. It is not known where they dump waste, but it is legal to dump waste 500m offshore of New Zealand.
The cruise industry is worth $191 million a year to New Zealand.