Barcelona has already agreed that during the current emergency, water will NOT be provided to cruise ships unless it is an emergency.
Now, green campaigners are urging the Balearic government to do the same for ships which dock in Mallorca.
Catalonia is just one of the regions in Spain suffering from an intense drought and an official emergency has been declared to save on water.
The port of Barcelona is not going to supply water to cruise ships during the drought emergency. Due to various measures in recent years, most of the big cruise ships can produce more than 90 per cent of the fresh water they need. In 2022, cruise ships were supplied with water in less than 30 per cent of stopovers, compared to 50 per cent in 2017. Cruise ships account for 0.09 per cent of the water consumption in the city of Barcelona.
The port has agreed with the Cruise Lines International Association that, for the duration of the drought emergency phase, the shipping companies operating there will only supply water in the event of an emergency. This agreement will be revoked once the situation returns to normal.
The industry says it is taking this important step in solidarity with the city of Barcelona at a difficult time for Catalonia.
Now, the Platform against Mallorca Megacruises wants Mallorca to do the same and has requested the limitation of the water supply to ships calling at the port of Palma while the drought pre-alert situation lasts.
“Although the severity levels of Catalonia have not been reached, in the Balearic Islands we are currently on pre-alert for drought on all the islands, except for the smallest which is already on alert,” the Platform said in a statement.
They point out that a cruise ship that stops at the port requires around 600,000 liters, “which represents the estimated daily consumption of a town like Sineu.”
“This high consumption of such a scarce and essential resource in the Islands can endanger the use that residents make and, therefore, it must be limited,” said the Platform,
The body says they are in the process of arranging an official meeting with the president of the Balearic Islands Port Authority and the recently appointed general director, Toni Ginard, in which they will express these concerns.
