Amsterdam city council has voted to ban cruise ships in an attempt to limit mass tourism and fight pollution.
As a result of the ban, the main cruise terminal on the IJ River could close.
No timetable or specific plan was announced.
“Polluting cruise ships are not in line with our city’s sustainable ambitions,” Ilana Rooderkerk, local leader of the D66 party, said in a statement posted on its website.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the port says: “We have taken note of the council’s appeal that they do not see space for cruise ships in the city of the future at the current location. There is certainly no immediate ban on ships, let alone an immediate closure of the terminal.
“The city’s executive branch has yet to work out the details and it was unclear when the measure could be implemented. No year has been mentioned,” the port said. “We will wait for the reaction of the councilor on how to proceed with the will of the council in the search for a new place. “
According to Rooderker, several construction projects are currently underway in the Noord district and cruise ships will present obstacles to this, particularly the proposed second bridge that would connect the city’s southern historic district and the Noord district.
“In other words, Amsterdam sails better without a cruise ship,” he said.
Rooderkerk added: “Furthermore, the cruises on the city map do not fit the city’s plan to reduce the number of tourists.”
The decision to limit cruises is the city’s latest step in its ongoing campaign to reduce the impact of tourism.
Worried about mass tourism, Amsterdam officials recently decided to limit cannabis use in a similar attempt to discourage visitors from partying in the city center.
The cruise terminal relocation plan is already on the table. In 2016, D66 member Kasja Ollongren announced that the cruise terminal should be moved. The proposal was also included in the 2018 coalition agreement.
“Allowing enormously polluting cruise ships in the heart of the city does not fit. It’s time to act because the climate doesn’t wait,” Rooderkerk concluded.
“Amsterdam’s municipal executive will now work on how to implement it. In any case, as far as we’re concerned, big ships no longer dock in Amsterdam city center.”
