Dead Fish to Power Cruise Ships


  • Leftovers of fish processing and other organic waste will be used to create biogas which will then be liquified and used to fuel a Norwegian cruise line 
  • Hurtigruten is a Norwegian cruise lie that plans to convert 6 of its ships to biogas by 2021 
  • Hurtigruten is also currently making three hybrid-powered ships that will be out on the seas in the next three years 
  • Current ocean transport relies heavily on fossil fuels and a large contributor in greenhouse emissions 
  • Hurtigruten is stopping the companies use of single use plastics in order to be more environmentally friendly 

I found this article extremely interesting considering that there is a lot of organic material that goes straight to the landfill. Composting is an option in some areas but it is not easy for everyone yet. I found it odd that no one has yet to capitalize on the opportunities biogas creates. I understand that the infrastructure might not be completely there for biogas to be a viable fuel source for everyone. However, I think it is cool that an ocean liner company is seeking to capitalize. Hurtigruten operates in the Arctic and Antarctic which are sensitive environments. The companies attempts to be more attentive to these environments is somewhat comforting but I would like to know if there are any consequences of biogas or if there are other ways the company is trying to mindful. 

The article did not mention what the environmental impacts of the biogas are in comparison to normal fossil fuels so I looked it up. What I found was that biogas does emit carbon however because it comes from plant based sources it is carbon neutral. I also found that the reason there isn't a large adaptation is because of the low price of fossil fuels, biogas also contains impurities and is not large enough scale to be economically viable.

http://biogas.ifas.ufl.edu/FAQ.asp

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/19/dead-fish-to-power-cruise-ships-norwegian-biogas

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-biogas.php

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