Passengers from two visiting cruise ships were able to mark Earth Day last week by enjoying a round of beach cleaning during their stop in the island.

The activity forms part of Norwegian company Hurtigruten’s ‘sustainable cruising’ policy, which aims to ‘leave a footprint we can be proud of’.

A mid-sized cruise ship can emit as much particulate as one million cars.

The tourists from the visiting Hurtigruten Maud and Spitzbergen ships were helped out by local charity Beach Buddies, which provided equipment to collect ‘significant amounts of rubbish in Castletown Bay and Glen Wyllin.

The liners had spent time docked in Peel and Douglas bays.

A wide range of nationalities were represented on the British Isles cruise, including those from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Sweden, China, Spain, Holland, France and Italy.

On Earth Day itself, Beach Buddies also hosted two major beach cleaning events for the staff of local companies – law firm Cains at Port Erin beach, and financial advisors Grant Thornton in Castletown.

Hurtigruten last worked with Beach Buddies in March when the 140 passengers from the Fridjtof Nansen cruise ship helped out with a beach clean in the south of the island. Hurtigruten seeks to contact ‘ambassadors’ in each destination on each of their voyages, and ‘engage’ guests in the cultures we visit, the ecosystems we explore, and the consequences of climate change we observe’.

Beach Buddies founder Bill Dale said: ‘This has been a very special week for us, and it’s a genuine privilege to have met so many people from all over the world who share our concerns about what humans are doing to the earth.

‘To have met people from all over the world on the beaches of the Isle of Man and to hear how they feel so passionately about the environment and wildlife gives you hope for the future.

He continued: ‘This week has brought many people from many different countries together on our island, and it was wonderful to hear how much they loved being here and how they thought our Island was so beautiful.

‘We have made a lot of really good connections which we hope will lead to even stronger worldwide links for Beach Buddies, and hopefully inspire others to get involved.’