5 ways the world’s longest river cruise – MV Ganga Vilas – will be a green travel option

The world’s longest river cruise – MV Ganga Vilas – is set to be launched on Friday (January 13) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The cruise will traverse 3200 kilometres across 2 countries and 27 river systems to reach Dibrugarh, Assam from Varanasi, UP its – departure point.

As the vessel makes its way across the breadth of India, it will be spending 51 days navigating river waters, putting the spotlight on its carbon footprint. The cruise ship has several facilities in place to make the journey a green one.

This is what it has on board:

1. The vessel will generate water for its use bysourcoing it directly from the river. For this, it has RO plants installed to desalinate, sterilize and generate fresh water from the river. This potable water will be used for drinking or for operational purposes on the ship.

2. The cruise operators say on their website that they use electricity-driven rickshaws for all their off-board excursions in cities and villages whwere the cruise makes pit stops along its journey. The operators say that the e-rikshaws not only reduce air pollution but also control noise pollution and help the locals earn a livelihood.

3. The ships use hospital grade silencers to suppress noise levels. These devices are fitted to the exhaust of vehicles to reduce engine noise. This is instrumental since passengers would sign up for the Ganga river cruise to experience nature and mechanical noises would not only degrade their experience but also disrupt the river environment including flora and fauna that call it home.

4. The ship has Oil Water Separator (OWS) machines to ensure that waste water discharged into the river does not have harmful chemicals. All waterborne vessels conventionally produce bilge water that is water mixed with oil from machinery parts or noxious chemicals as a by product. These need to be separated before the water is pumped out into the river ecosystem. The operator says that the Ganga vilas cruise will use OWS machines that are generally used in marine vessels so that they perform at peak levels in extracting oil from water to avoid river contamination.

5. The vessels will have premium onboard Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to treat the waste generated on the ship before it is released into the water or on land. The sewage generated on ships cannot remain there for a long time and has to be disposed of. Mandates require that when the waste is released into water there should be no solids floating in it and the water should not get discoloured etc. Cruise operators can face heavy fines if they are found to be violating these rules. Besides treating the waste it generates, the Ganga Vilas cruise will use eco-friendly bags for garbage and bio-degradable toilet papers. It will replace plastic water bottles with specially-made aluminum water bottles, which the guests can take home as souvenirs, the cruise operator says on its website.