While Seattle is working on how to reduce vehicle miles traveled to meet its 2030 climate goals, here's what is happening at the Pier 66 (and sometimes at Pier 91) when cruise ships call on our fair city:

One cruise ship running its auxiliary engines while at berth releases the emissions equivalent of an average car driving from Seattle to New York 30 times (that's about 84,900 miles worth of emissions per ship per vessel call).

Pier 91 has shore power, so ships capable of connecting to our electrical grid don't need to run diesel engines while at berth. In 2019, 89% of cruise ships that could use shore power at Pier 91 actually did (FYI this stat is misstated in the link). https://www.portseattle.org/page/2019-shore-power-highlights

Pier 66 won't receive shore power until 2022. For years Belltown residents have been getting a double dose of cruise-related emissions: from the cruise ships and from gridlocked private vehicles taking cruise passengers to and from the terminal.