NEWS THE INTERVIEW The Interview


Kristin Karst, AmaWaterways


River cruise company’s co-owner tells Harry Kemble how she believes time will catch up with cruise lines that do not meet environmental standards


K 16


ristin Karst is in a bullish mood as she describes how AmaWaterways


is fighting for a greener future on the world’s rivers. Te river line’s co-owner


predicts port authorities or national governments could soon begin to prevent river vessels that do not meet certain environmental standards from docking on iconic waterways. She feels that while a


breakthrough has been made by ship designers in making vessels more fuel-efficient, some lines’ engines built more than 40 years ago may soon be deemed obsolete. “Every part of what we do


contributes to the environment,” she says. “Sooner or later everyone will have to comply. “Tere are so many older ships


and they cannot change engines immediately. “Tere might be something that


says ‘all the ships built before this year have to comply’. It could come from the governments. It could come


16 JANUARY 2020


Every part of what we do contributes to the environment. Sooner or later everyone will have to comply [with environmental standards]


from the ports. At one point it will happen, I am sure it will happen, but I don’t know when.” Karst, who founded the luxury


line together with husband Rudi Schreiner and Jimmy Murphy in 2002, outlines AmaWaterways’ efforts to be sustainable. At Clia’s River Cruise Conference


in Amsterdam last year, just one agent in a room of 250 delegates raised their hand when asked if customers asked about sustainability. Karst says both customers


and agents have encouraged the line to operate its ever-growing fleet, currently 24 ships, in an eco-friendly way. “I wouldn’t have talked about [AmaWaterways’ green push]


because it would sound like bragging, but today everyone wants us to talk about this,” she explains. In 2019, AmaWaterways launched


the biggest river vessel in Europe – AmaMagna – which at 22 metres wide is almost twice the width of standard river ships. Karst says the 196-passenger


vessel’s 10 engines makes it 25% more efficient than a standard river ship. She adds: “A traditional river ship has two big engines and has to use them all the time. “With our new ship AmaMagna,


we have 10 small engines and we can turn them on and off.” Asked if AmaWaterways had


considered ordering a sister ship for AmaMagna, Karst says: “We are


talking about AmaMagna II. It’s a maybe – not a given. It would be [for] 2022, but it’s not 100% decided.” AmaWaterways has also cut


sailing time on multiple itineraries in a bid to reduce fuel consumption. One which has been tinkered


with is AmaMagna’s Danube itinerary between Germany and Budapest. Itineraries still last seven days, but ships sail from Vilshofen rather than former embarkation port Nuremberg. Karst admits that tweaking a


popular itinerary is not without risk, but believes enough care has been taken. “Te [Danube] itinerary is now a quarter less distance, which means we save 25% fuel,” she says. “We either slow down our ship


and consume less fuel or we spend more time in port.” Now she feels the time is right


to speak out about sustainability, Karst is confident AmaWaterways’ quiet environmental improvements stand the line in good stead as more customers begin to question the


cruise industry’s green credentials. i Cruise emissions control, back page


travelweekly.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120