Hurtigruten to become the world’s first plastic free cruise line

Stack of crushed colorful plastic bottles background waiting for recycle
By Alexandra Coulton


Hurtigruten has become one of the first major travel companies to ban all unnecessary single-use plastic.

And if that’s not cause for a Monday morning celebration, we don’t know what is.

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By 2nd of July, everything from plastic straws, drink mixers, plastic glasses, coffee lids and plastic bags will be removed from all Hurtigruten ships.

Their goal is to become the Wold’s first plastic free shipping company.

“At Hurtigruten, we have focused on the problem with plastic pollution for years,” said Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam.

“There is a lot of talk about the impact plastic has on our oceans.”

“But it’s time to take action. By getting rid of single use plastic on board all ships already by this summer, we will hopefully get others to follow. It is possible to act now, and the oceans does not deserve more hesitation.”

Their message is crystal-clear: All unnecessary single-use plastic will be removed company-wide by July 2nd.

This means that plastic straws are replaced by metal straws, stir pins will no longer be used – the same with plastic glasses wrapped in plastic, plastic cutlery, plastic bags, plastic lids on coffee cups, plastic toothpicks, plastic aprons, single-use packaging of butter and all other single-use plastic items that Hurtigruten’s 400.000 guests and 2500 employees encounter on a day to day basis.

According to the cruise line,  guests and employees clean tons of plastic from beaches in the areas they operate.

It was witnessing the plastic pollution problem on a daily basis that sparked their need to take action.

“Operating in pristine areas as we do, comes with a responsibility,” Skjeldam said.

Mind-boggling 15 metric tons of plastic ends in the world oceans every minute of the day. If the trend continues, this number will double in the next 10 years. This means that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans.

Hurtigruten’s single use plastics ban will be effective across its entire fleet of custom build expedition vessels – both operating on the legendary Norwegian Coastal Route, as well as expedition cruises from pole to pole.

The single-use plastic ban will also be imposed on the hotels, restaurants and other establishments of Hurtigruten’s land based operations on Svalbard, operated by its fully owned subsidiary Hurtigruten Svalbard.

In addition to the internal plastic ban, Hurtigruten is challenging all its suppliers to reduce and cut the use of plastic.

“No one can win the war on plastic alone without allies. This is why we implement high demands on our suppliers. Our goal is to become the world’s first plastic free first shipping company. This is our first step,” Skjeldam said.

Hurtigruten’s decision to ban single use plasticcomes just a few days after announcing the largest environmental upgrade in the company’s 125 years of history. Up to nine of Hurtigruten’s ships will be retrofitted to LNG- and battery propulsion.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

    Latest comments

    1. Thanks Travel weekly – we agree – its worth celebrating. We hope that many more expedition and if possible all cruise lines join the movement. Damian@hurtigruten

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