The ship, named Crystal Serenity, departed from Alaska and is scheduled to pass through the Bering Strait to the Arctic Ocean before heading to Greenland and then sailing back to NY.
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Crystal Serenity is a luxurious cruise ship what will make its way through the Northwest Passage – a sea route that crosses the Arctic Ocean, sailing along the North American coast.
Even as the cruise industry looks to benefit from climate change, it is itself an outsized contributor to it.
When it came to Crystal Cruises, it said that they have been taking care of the environment requirements.
Speaking with The Global and Mail, Michael Byers, a professor at the University of British Columbia, expressed his concern about the acceleration of the area’s destruction.
The Crystal Serenity is unlikely to meet heavy ice: This NASA satellite image shows an ice-free Northwest Passage on August 9.
But, while Crystal Cruises has spent time and money organizing with officials for their Northwest Passage voyage in 2016 and 2017, it continues to “very risky” to take a sailboat or, for example, a snorkle team through the islands, Hutchinson said.
In 2010, the small Clipper Adventure, which carried 128 passengers and crew, ran aground on an uncharted rock. It took 40 hours to evacuate passengers and the Canadian Coast Guard filed a half-million-dollar lawsuit for damages over pollution from the ship’s grounding.
Despite all the preparations, the US also has concerns about the Crystal Serenity voyage into the Northwest Passage. According to The Washington Post, the Northwest Passage is “extremely isolated and remote”. He said, “It’s the nature of the exercise, which is to take a large cruise ship with a very large carbon footprint to the Northwest Passage to take advantage of the melting caused by climate change”. Wired wrote about the dangers of traveling through the Northwest Passage’s turbulent waters.
Following more than three years of planning and preparation, Crystal’s vessel welcomed almost 1,000 intrepid guests aboard in Seward, Alaska. Others may not have this forethought which could end in disaster. For the Serenity’s first journey, an icebreaker, two helicopters, a sonar, searchlights, and navigation system will be used.
While modern technology helps the Serenity sail through the Northwest Passage, keep in mind the words of Think Progress, this “trip is possible only because of the Arctic’s ice” receding.
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The Crystal Cruises NIRB application notes, among its emergency measures response, that 1,350 can be accommodated in covered, motorized lifeboats and an additional 900 in 36 inflatable life rafts. Under regulations, the Serenity is required to debrief daily with the Canadian Coast Guard.
