Amsterdam Government Calls for Banning Ocean Cruise Ships by 2035
After agreeing to limit and then relocate cruise ships out of the center of the Dutch city, members of Amsterdam’s coalition government, including the mayor and some aldermen, are now saying it would be more cost-effective to simply eliminate cruise ships. On Wednesday, January 21, they floated a plan to phase out all port calls by ocean-going cruise ships by 2035, while maintaining a smaller number of river cruise ship calls.
Concerns about pollution and overtourism have been growing in Amsterdam for nearly a decade. Cruise ships have typically berthed in the heart of the city, and as pointed out by industry officials, that makes them a more prominent target for critics. The environmental activists and now alderman in the coalition government are saying large cruise ships are highly polluting, emitting large amounts of CO2, particulate matter, and nitrogen. Of course, this ignores the EU’s low-sulfur fuel regulations and the cruise industry’s wide adoption of emission scrubbers even before the EU regulations mandating the use of shore power starting in 2030, at the EU’s main ports.
The move to ban cruise ships in Amsterdam gained momentum in 2023 and 2024, leading to a proposed solution. The agreement had called for limiting cruise ships starting in 2026 to one ship per day and no more than 100 port calls by ocean-going cruise ships per year. Starting in 2027, cruise ships would also be required to use shore power. City officials also moved to reduce but not eliminate river cruise ship port calls.
They also agreed to explore the feasibility of moving the cruise berth at the Passengers Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) from its current location to east of the city by 2035. The city council is yet to release its final report, but aldermen are speaking out, saying the study shows it is more effective to simply eliminate cruise ships.
The media is citing the alderman saying the cost of moving the cruise terminal operation would be €85 million, with no guarantee that they would recoup the investment. By contrast, they say over the next 30 years, cruise ships will only contribute €46 million in revenue to the economy.
The NL Times quotes local politician Rob Hofland saying, “We are finally going to free Amsterdam from these floating apartment blocks.”
The coalition government is pushing its plan to eliminate the cruise ships, but the final decision has to come from the city council. In addition, Amsterdam has elections in March for its new government, meaning any action will have to be taken by the new government.
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In the past, the critics have said other ports, specifically Rotterdam, could take the cruise ships instead. Some cruise lines are already using Rotterdam and offering bus tours to Amsterdam for their passengers.
Amsterdam would join other European cities that have moved to reduce the impact of cruise ships. Barcelona also plans to limit cruise ship calls, while the French Riviera imposed restrictions both on the size of cruise ships and the number of port calls each year. Other destinations, such as the Greek Islands introduced new passenger taxes to help deal with the influx of passengers on the popular islands.
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