BeMed: Cruise Ships Against Plastic Pollution in the Mediterranean

Duration: 01 June 2020 – 30 November 2021

Project Title: Cruise Ships Against Plastic Pollution in the Mediterranean

Funded By: Beyond Plastic Med (www.beyondplasticmed.org)

Topic of the initiative:

The Initiative, which is supported and endorsed by the Cypriot Deputy Ministry of Shipping, will provide a holistic solution-oriented approach for the minimisation of marine plastic pollution and its consequences to human health, marine environment and coastal tourism, targeting shipping industry, and more specifically cruise ships. The overall objective is to build capacity and support key stakeholders to minimise plastic waste, and specifically single-use plastics, generated by cruise ships, and to promote the implementation of effective waste management practices on cruise ships and at port reception facilities.

Specific objectives:

1. Baseline study: understand waste management practices on cruise ships, specifically focusing on plastic waste, filling an important data gap in cruise ship generated waste.
2. Develop a solution-oriented policy tool that will identify and propose novel and practical solutions for the minimisation of plastic waste production on cruise ships and the improvement of waste management practices on cruise ships and at port reception facilities. The policy tool will target the waste streams that will be identified through the waste characterisation of the baseline study.
3. Engage key actors within the shipping industry. Create allies, inform and encourage as many key players as possible (such as DMS and WISTA Cyprus) to adopt practices that minimise the amount of plastic waste produced on cruise ships, with an emphasis on single-use plastics (SUP).
4. Spread the word and raise awareness in an effort to inspire and encourage the uptake of practices to minimize plastic pollution.

Press Releases:

1. The press release about the project’s launch  is available here (GR).
2. The press release about the project’s collaboration with the Deputy Ministry of Shipping is available here (GR)
3. The press release about the results from the participatory policy-making workshop with shipping stakeholders is available here (GR).

Guide of Best Practices:

Within the framework of the project, and as part of Specific Objective 3 on engaging key actors to adopt practices that minimise the amount of plastic produced on cruise ships, a Guide was developed and distributed to over 200 shipping stakeholder. The Guide is available here (EN).