Protest action in Rostock
Activists want to prevent cruise ships from sailing
Climate activists are trying to prevent the cruise ship “Aida Diva” from sailing. photo
© Frank Hormann/dpa
According to their own statements, climate activists want to prevent a cruise ship from leaving Rostock on canoes and inflatable boats. They are concerned with the climate impacts of the industry, but also with other topics.
With canoes and small boats, climate activists blocked a cruise ship in Rostock-Warnemünde and prevented it from departing on time. The group, which calls itself “Smash Cruiseshit”, partially positioned itself directly on the “Aida Diva” and attached banners, as can be seen on its Twitter channel. Emergency services were on site both on land and by boat.
The shipping company Aida Cruises said that a delay would not affect the further course of the journey. A company spokeswoman wrote to the German Press Agency that the ship should set off on a five-day cruise towards Sweden on Saturday. A day at sea is planned for Sunday and mooring in Stockholm for Monday at 10 a.m. “We are confident that the protest action can be ended quickly and peacefully in the interest of the common good.”
Cruise stays in port longer than planned
According to the port’s call plan, departure was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. More than an hour and a half later, the ship was still in port. On a banner attached to the ship, the activists called for “sea rescue in the Mediterranean instead of luxury liners in every sea,” as can be seen on their Twitter channel.
In a statement, the group criticized cruise tourism as harmful to the climate. Technical efforts by companies did not change that. They called for other ways for people to recover. Cruise lines should be held responsible, among other things, for ecological damage. The shipping company referred to their technical innovations. “By 2050 we are aiming for climate-neutral ship operations.”
In 2019, the “Smash Cruiseshit” group had already delayed the departure of a cruise ship by several hours with a similar campaign in Kiel. Rostock-Warnemünde is an important cruise port. For the current year, more than 130 ship calls were expected at the start of the season. The cruise line Aida Cruises is also based in Rostock.