Despite pollution, stores gladly welcome cruise ships.

Despite pollution, shops welcome cruise ships

The cruise guests are super important for Bornholm, even if it comes at a price, says the chairman of the Rønne trade association.

Right now, the cruise ship Mein Schiff 7 is docking at Rønne, and it is something the local trade association very much welcomes – even though the ship pollutes. (Archive photo) (Photo: © Imago, Ritzau Scanpix)

By

Anders Dall ( [email protected] ) 26 minutes ago

It is 316 meters long, can sail with approximately 3,000 passengers, and contains, among other things, 12 restaurants and bistros, 17 bars, 2 pools, a theater, and a sports hall.

Right now, the cruise ship Mein Schiff 7 is docked at Rønne Harbor, and it is something Jan Bidstrup, who runs the store Din Tøjmand, has been looking forward to.

The visit from the many cruise tourists helps keep the store alive, especially during the cold months when not much is happening.

- They create a lot of life in the town, which we don't have much of when we get into winter. And they generate the turnover that allows me to keep my business alive during the winter as well, says Jan Bidstrup, who is also chairman of the Rønne Trade Association.

Therefore, the cruise guests are "super important" for Bornholm, according to the chairman.

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A better solution must be found

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However, not everything is rosy when cruise ships like Mein Schiff 7 come to Bornholm. The ship's own engines run on oil while the ship is in port, and that pollutes.

According to senior researcher at the Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University, Steen Solvang Jensen, who has previously studied emissions from cruise ships in a number of Danish ports ( https://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR413.pdf ), the pollution can on average be compared to that from nearly 4,000 cars in terms of nitrogen oxides, and in terms of fine particles, it corresponds to 5,500 cars.

And that is not ideal, Jan Bidstrup admits.

- It is really bad regarding the pollution it creates, and something simply needs to be done about it. There must be solutions that allow them to connect to shore-side facilities so they can use our shore power and thereby pollute less than they do today, he says.

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Denied permission for shore power facility

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That solution, however, is not straightforward.

Even though the ship can connect to shore power, it is not something Rønne Harbor offers.

The harbor has had its application for a shore power facility connected to the Bornholm power grid rejected.

The reason is that there is already maximum capacity on the electricity that can be transported through the sea cable to Bornholm, Per Sørensen, electricity supply director at Trefor El-net, has told DR.

You can read more about that story here:

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