Onlooker sparks outrage with disturbing photo of cruise ship pulling into port: 'Unfortunately, nobody is policing this'

Cruise ships are known for their big environmental impact, and a disturbing photo shared on Reddit highlights the negative impact they have on the places they dock.

Shared on the subreddit r/newzealand, the post shows a photo of a cruise ship called the Celebrity Edge, operated by Celebrity Cruises, at a berth in Lyttelton near Christchurch, New Zealand.

Many of the commenters were outraged by the photo and cruise ships in general. — Photo Credit: Reddit

In the photo, you can clearly see huge plumes of smoke being released into the air from the ship's funnels. "Unfortunately, nobody is policing this," wrote the OP after sharing a link to Lyttelton Port Company's rules for visiting vessels, where it clearly states that excessive funnel smoke is prohibited.

Cruise ships attract a lot of people because they offer a luxurious option for traveling and allow people to visit lots of places in a short period of time. However, their impact on the environment is concerning, especially because of the amount of pollution they generate.

As reported by Science Daily, research suggests that large cruise ships can produce more pollution than 12,000 cars. Scarily, people traveling on an Antarctic cruise can produce as much pollution during a seven-day trip as the average European produces over the course of a year.

And it's not just harmful pollution that is generated by these ships; the average cruise ship also produces over a ton of waste per day. Some of this waste is dumped overboard, where it pollutes the ocean and can cause harm to marine life. Many of the ships also use scrubbers to clean their exhausts, and the polluted, toxic wastewater is released directly into the sea.

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Several cities, such as Amsterdam, have recognized the negative impact cruise ships have on air quality and have banned the ships from docking there.

Many of the commenters were outraged by the photo and cruise ships in general.

"Cruise ships are floating environmental catastrophes. A shame they are a thing and continue to be largely unregulated due to the way they conduct business," one commenter wrote.

"I feel for the port workers having to breathe that air," added another.