Carnival UK, which operates Carnival Corp & plc group brands in the country, has warned that cruising in northern Europe “is not sacrosanct” as the shipping industry cranks up pressure against tighter planned international rules on sulphur emissions, a media report says.

Chief executive David Dingle told Travel Weekly that company brands P&O Cruises and Cunard Line have already planned a 28% cut in Baltic and Norway cruises between 2013 and 2015.

Despite a large increase in new ex-UK capacity targeting newcomers to cruise holidays next year, the Baltic region is not a strong draw for new to cruise passengers, suggesting further reductions could be possible.

Dingle spoke after a cross-party group of MPs last week lobbied the government to amend the rules to give the cruise and ferry sectors time to adapt their ships, the report said.

The sulphur content of fuel must fall to 0.1% in January 2015 in the Baltic, North Sea and English Channel to cut pollution.