Dozens of containers appeared near the islands of Frisian islands of Terschelling, Vlieland, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. Among the goods washed up on the shore were flat-screen televisions, brought ashore with the polystyrene material they had been packed in. Such material is considered to be flotsam, and inhabitants of the islands have a centuries-old tradition of collecting it.

Here, one man carries away a flat-screen television, still tightly wrapped in its packaging. Meanwhile, others inspect a cargo container that was washed up on a beach. Some 270 containers were lost from the container ship MSC Zoe, during "heavy weather."

It's not unusual to see flip-flop shoes like this on the beach, but they don't usually arrive in pairs as flotsam. Some shoes — and there were a lot of shoes — were wrapped in bags containing silica gel, one of several pollution worries.

Among the many items to be brought ashore on the waves were to cars, freezers, Ikea furniture, and computer chips. Volunteers pitched in with efforts to clean the beach.

This photograph from the Dutch Coastguard shows three of the containers that fell from MSC Zoe floating out at sea. Authorities have warned that some containers are carrying hazardous chemicals such as organic peroxide, and have urged people not to touch the unopened freight boxes. Three containers loaded with chemicals are still missing.

The Panamanian-flagged MSC Zoe is one one the biggest container ships in the world. Containers appeared to have simply been washed away in the rough weather. German authorities have taken the lead investigating the causes of the accident, which occurred in German waters near the island of Borkum. The bulk of the lost cargo was carried southwest, into waters belonging to the Netherlands.

NABU, the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, has published its 2017 cruise ship rankings and the results show how little progress the industry has made when it comes to pollution. Of 77 cruise ships assessed, 76 use toxic heavy fuel oil. NABU says that by using this fuel, one single giant liner will emit as much pollution as 5 million cars would on the same route.

AIDAnova is the only ship on the list which is powered by the less harmful LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). It is a new ship on the market, built by the Meyer shipyard in the northwestern German area of Papenburg. It is the first of seven next-generation LNG-powered cruise ships ordered by leisure travel company Carnival.

New additions to the portfolios of companies such as TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (the 'Europa 2' is pictured here) are at least using nitric oxide reduction techniques through selective catalytic reduction. They also can use electric shorepower when docked at port.

Many cruise liners do not have soot particle filters or diesel particulate filters, making the air above the ocean giants anything but fresh and clean. The density of fine particles on deck can be anything up to 20 times that of a busy street.

The NABU survey praises the innovation of AIDAnova and suggests that others should look to emulate its lead. Should other cruise liners convert to LPG, residents of coastal areas would benefit from improved air quality.

However, LNG is far from a panacea if a recent study by the Transport and Environment organization is to be believed. It does not identify LNG has having significant advantages over diesel when it comes to climate protection. It is increasingly obvious that massive technological changes in shipping are required.

"No entry for dirty cruise ships" — that's what NABU head Leif Miller thinks is needed, as no major technological shift is in sight for the industry. Given the impact dirty cruise liners have on the health of residents unfortunate enough to live close to their pathways, some kind of drastic action is needed it seems.