ETHICAL TRAVELLER:'ARE YOU SCARED of flying?" is the usual taxi driver's question en route to Dublin Port. "No, I just like travelling this way," is what I say now, as getting into a carbon debate at 7am is not good for anyone's head.
In fairness, getting into a carbon debate isn’t good for anyone’s head anytime, especially if you are trying to research a ferry’s footprint.
Until a year ago most ferry companies came up blank if you asked for carbon-emission data or whether its sick bags are biodegradable. But the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA), which represents UK ferry and cruise firms, recently commissioned a carbon-dioxide study; the results showed an average of 120g per passenger kilometre. So on a 100km crossing from Dublin to Holyhead my footprint is 12kg of the gas. Putting that in perspective, driving 100km in an average car emits 28kg.
“Average” is a big word in carbon-dioxide talk. The PSA says “some” companies recycle, “some” are restricting non-polluting paint and “some” are improving fuel use. The stats are vague, with little information on which company is greenest.
One thing is for sure: the newer the ship, the better. Irish Ferries claims to operate “one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient ferry fleets”. Its carbon research produces average figures, too: 1,130g per kilometre for each car, with an average car load of 3.4 people. More averages, more confusion.
What is not top of its green list is its linking with Tesco Clubcard for bargain prices, which is always frustrating for some of us who are trying to shop locally.
Stena Line’s ecopolicy aims to reduce energy consumption by 5 per cent a year, by changing propellers, adjusting timetables and analysing speed. The company uses non-lead paints, recycles engine heat for onboard heating and recycles its waste. I asked one member of staff recently if my plastic cup was going to be recycled, as it was piled into a black bin bag, with a load of chips and ketchup. The silent am-I-bovvered? response put me quickly back in my little green box. With luck they are all disposing of waste properly, but if they are, I wish they would tell us all about it.
At the end of the day the carbon calculators still tell me that if I fly Dublin to London, for example, my emissions are double that of going by ferry and train. Which leads to another problem; ferry travel is still aimed at car drivers rather than train passengers. Once you start pumping petrol on the autoroutes at the other end, you may as well have flown.
Ferry ports in France are well connected to trains, but less so closer to home. Dún Laoghaire and Holyhead have train stations, but Dublin Port is tricky if you miss the bus. Arriving at Belfast port at dawn is downright spooky: it is deserted and remote.
To link up with trains, check out the gloriously geeky www.seat61.com, which tells you how to get anywhere in
the world by train and ferry. There are great ferry and rail bargains to the UK with www.sailrail.co.uk; Stena Line also offers rail-sail deals at www.stenaline.ie/ferry/rail-and-sail.
As for the hassle factor, ferries and trains win hands down for me, travelling solo or as a family. You can carry all the make-up you want aboard a ferry, as well as bikes, buggies and bottles of water. My bag was searched at a ferry port recently, which I found a little amusing as 100 or so cars drove on beside me, packed to the gills with everything possible, but without being searched. But don’t get into that debate with security men at 7am. On average, they don’t thank you for that.