Their reassurance this week follows concerns stemming from a NSW Parliamentary inquiry and a pledge by the Baird government that if reelected on March 28 it would ban cruise ships using high-sulphur fuels in NSW ports by the middle of next year.

The Baird government's commitment was made after claims that pollution from the White Bay Cruise Ship Terminal in Sydney has made Balmain residents sick since the $57 million facility opened in 2013, Fairfax Media has reported.

Ships using the White Bay facility use a low-quality "bunker" fuel that can contain up to 35 times the concentrations of sulphur permitted in North American and European ports.

Bega Valley Shire Residents and Ratepayers Association (BVSRRA) has written to Bega MP, Andrew Constance, raising urgent concerns about the dangers to community health of visiting cruise ships to the Eden area, should they be burning the same highly toxic bunker fuel oil.

Association secretary John Richardson said the  BVSRRA’s concerns were initially aroused by reports from the parliamentary inquiry into the health concerns of the White Bay residents who were exposed to the bunker fuel emissions.  

"The BVSRRA is concerned that cruise ships visiting the port of Eden may also be burning the same highly toxic bunker oil whilst anchored in Twofold Bay and may therefore be endangering the health of the local community and the broader shire," Mr Richardson said.

The BVSRRA is also concerned that plans to allow cruise ships to moor in Eden Port could see the danger of negative health impacts brought even closer to populated areas, including Eden, unless real steps are taken to outlaw the burning of such fuels by cruise ships whilst they are visiting or birthing in Eden or anchoring in surrounding waters, he said.

Cruise Eden coordinator Natalie Godward said that undoubtedly, the shipping industry would ultimately come under the same progressive regulations for clearer and cleaner fuel that other transport industries have come under.

"We welcome this day as well,"  Ms Godward told the Eden Magnet on Tuesday.

"However, in the meantime, we don’t believe that the volume of cruise ships currently coming in to Eden, along with the fact that our current cruise ships anchor and run tenders, and never stay longer than a day, poses an environmental or toxic hazard issue for the community of Eden and the wider Sapphire Coast,” she said.

Carnival Australia has an approximate 80 per cent share of the Australian and New Zealand cruise market and represents lines including P&O Cruises.

P&O's Pacific Pearl has made two recent visits to Eden, on February 22 and March 6, while the Pacific Dawn will be in Eden on November 24, followed by the Pacific Eden on January 10 and February 2, 2016.

Carnival Australia is the main cruise ship company using White Bay. 

Corporate communications manager for Carnival Australia, David Jones, told the Magnet there was "no reason for concern".

"Air monitoring in Sydney has confirmed that cruise ships are operating well within existing air quality requirements," Mr Jones said.

"In addition Carnival Australia has committed to a multi million investment in advanced exhaust cleansing 'scrubber' technology on its Australian based ships which will further improve air quality," he said.

Mr Richardson said that while the association totally supported the development of the local tourism, including visitations by cruise ships, its support was conditional on it being in the "best interests" of residents and visitors to the area and the wider shire of the Bega Valley.

"The BVSRRA understands that the problem can be overcome by the provision of shore-based power generation facilities or by the government taking steps to ban the use of the highly toxic bunker fuel oil and has asked Mr Constance to confirm, as a matter of urgency, what steps his government is taking to overcome the problem," he said.