World’s most dangerous cruise about to set sail
The first cruise ship to sail through Canada’s Northwest Passage will depart this week, on a controversial itinerary only made possible by melting ice sheets.
The Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Serenity, an enormous vessel with 1,725 person capacity, will depart from Seward, Alaska for New York City, via the top of the world.
The route was first navigated a century ago by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, but has only been made cruise-able by melting ice in the region during recent years. While anticipation for the cruise is high, questions have been raised about the impact of further human degradation on a region already disproportionally affected by climate change.
Paul Garcia, the chief spokesman for the cruise line, told Mashable in March the voyage had already sold out and interest for the next cruise is high, “In terms of guest capacity, we would be the most guests to go through the Arctic in one vessel.”
Environmental experts have noted that while the Crystal Serenity itself will likely not cause problems, future cruises could devastate the fragile region.
Michael Byers, a professor at the University of British Columbia, was particularly damning, saying, “They take advantage of climate change, and they cause even more climate change. That is an enormous problem and also a terrible irony.”
Question marks have also been raised about the ability of rescue teams to respond should something go wrong. A report published by Copenhagen Business School, stated estimations from the Canadian Coast Guard of an 11 hour response time, which could be far too late to prevent deaths in an incident involved such a large cruise ship.
The Crystal Serenity will be accompanied by a helicopter to spot for hazards, as well as an ice breaker ship, but the effectiveness is at this stage still unknown.
What’s your take? Do you think it’s irresponsible to run enormous cruise liners through such a delicate passage? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Image credit: Crystal Cruises
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