Pollution from cruise ships is a growing problem. Cruise ships
generate an astonishing amount of pollution, up to 25,000 gallons of
sewage from toilets and 140,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys
and showers each day. Currently, lax state and federal anti-pollution
laws allow cruise ships to dump untreated and inadequately treated
sewage from toilets in state waters. This puts our coastal environment
at risk from the threats of bacteria, pathogens and heavy metals
generated in these waste streams.
Take action -- urge your Representative and Senator to co-sponsor the Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2005!
>>More Information on Cruise Pollution
Sewage:
- Cruise ships may legally dump raw sewage 3 miles from shore.
- While ships are supposed to have a marine sanitation device (MSD) on board and are required to treat their wastes within 3 miles of shore, there are no federal requirements to ensure the device is operating. Ships need not monitor, track or report these discharges.
- Cruise ship MSDs typically fail to meet the effluent standards they were designed to meet. Sampling in Alaska showed that MSDs were not functioning properly across the board.
Graywater (water from laundries, sinks, kitchens, and showers):
- There are no federal standards for graywater, except in Alaskan waters and the Great Lakes for which Congress passed special legislation.
- Currently a cruise ship can legally dump this wastewater, which may contain bleach, detergents and other harmful substances, almost anywhere else in the ocean (with the exception of the state waters of California). This includes sensitive coastal habitats like coral reefs.
- Samples taken in Alaska reveal that cruise ship graywater contains extremely high levels of fecal coliform and total suspended solids, as well as concentrations of copper, lead, nickel and zinc that routinely exceed state water quality standards for municipalities.
Oily Bilge Water:
- The Clean Water Act requires ships to have an oily water separator on board, but cruise lines have routinely illegally bypassed the separators to discharge higher concentrations of oil.
Illegal Discharges
Illegal environmental behavior is pervasive throughout the cruise industry. From 1993 to 2003, cruise ships committed more than 300 acts of dumping oil, garbage, hazardous waste, sewage and graywater, inflicting damage to coral reefs, and falsifying environmental records, paying more than $50 million in fines and penalties. Worse, the illegal violations have continued even after multimillion dollar fines were levied against the largest cruise lines.
