Cruise ship industry has no regard for the environment or ports
BY ELLIOT BARON
Guest Columnist
One undeniable aspect of the cruise
industry is that, as a matter of practice, they illegally dump sewage,
garbage, oil and hazardous wastes at sea. It is a way of doing business
and the fines they pay for getting caught are merely a cost of doing
business.
Anyone who suggests otherwise simply doesn’t know any better, or in the
case of Caribe Nautical owner John Wells, is intentionally misinforming
the public so that he can continue to reap financial reward from an
industry which is under-regulated and out of control.
The proven cases of dumping and willfully circumventing best
environmental practices shows an industry with little or no regard for
the environment or its ports of call. It’s been over a decade since
passengers videotaped crew members of the Regal Princess tossing twenty
garbage-filled plastic bags overboard off of the Florida Keys. In the
meantime, there have been hundreds of incidents where cruise vessels
were cited for intentionally fouling the waters.
Wells argues that the cruise lines have earned our respect and states
that Mayor Weekley was rude to them for suggesting that they pump their
wastes into an advanced wastewater system, or get out of town.
But who’s been rude? Just look at the environmental record. We are
talking about an industry which has been fined repeatedly for dumping
untreated sewage, for pumping oily bilge water as a matter of habit, and
then falsifying mandatory ledgers to cover-up the activity. They enter
into agreements and then freely break them.
Just last August, while on probation for past infractions, Carnival
Cruise Line’s probation officer filed charges in US District Court in
Miami that Carnival had filed 12 falsified environmental audit reports.
Last May, the Norwegian Sun was cited by the State of Washington for
illegally discharging 16,000 gallons of raw sewage into the waters off a
popular vacation resort and a known habitat for Orca whales. The cruise
line hasn’t denied the allegation, just argues that the state has no
jurisdiction.
Last March, the Crystal Harmony admitted that contrary to a written
agreement to not discharge in the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary, the ship had actually discharged 36,000 gallons of treated
bilge, treated sewage, and grey water. Crystal contends that they didn’t
violate the law, they just failed to keep their promise.
In August of 2002 Holland America dumped sewage sludge while in Juneau
harbor. The incident is still under investigation The cruise line admits
to dumping 250 gallons, but the harbormaster’s staff believes the figure
was more likely 40,000 gallons.
In 2001, Holland America, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean paid fines to
Alaska for illegal discharges. Meanwhile, the Norwegian Sky discharged a
three-quarter-mile long stream of sewage while en route from Juneau to
Ketchikan. Fecal coliform counts were 3500 times the allowable federal
standard and total suspended solids were 180 times the standard.
Is this the industry that has earned our respect? Wells states that any
discussion on cruise ships must begin with the “Fact” that "cruise ships
do not discharge any wastewater into Keys waters." That has to be the
most ridiculous statement to appear in the Key West Citizen this year.
Cruise lines have been fined over $78 million for environmental
violations in the past dozen years. These fines only result from cases
where the cruise lines were caught red-handed. One must assume that it
is a small percentage of the total number of incidents. The notion that
we should believe that cruise lines are not dumping because they say so,
is absurd.
The fact that Royal Caribbean had oil separators on board did not
prevent them from rigging a system to bypass the filters, which are
costly to operate and whose waste requires a disposal fee. This practice
was engaged in fleetwide and resulted in fines of $27 million. They lied
to the United States Coast Guard, can we be sure that they are telling
the truth to us when all evidence and practice points to another
conclusion? In April 2002, Carnival also pled guilty to dumping and
lying and was fined $18 million in U.S. Federal District Court in Miami.
Wells claims that cruise executives should be treated with the dignity
and civility that they deserve. Yet the cruise lines themselves are
notorious in their demeaning treatment of local authorities in various
ports-of-call. Jean Holder, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourist
Organization criticized the industry last fall, stating “certain tactics
would be regarded as unacceptable by reasonable men. We have heard, for
example, that a representative of the cruise lines telephoned a
Caribbean Prime Minister in hospital the night before he was to undergo
a major operation, to dissuade him from supporting the [$20 Caribbean]
levy.”
In other Caribbean islands, among the most vulnerable nations on the
planet, cruise lines have long used threats and ultimatums to intimidate
and maintain a colonial subservience which prevents the exploited island
nations from receiving an equitable share of the funds that the ships
generate while utilizing their resources.
In Hawaii, Holland America began bringing cruise ships to the unspoiled
island of Molokai last year in spite of protesters with signs reading
“Cruise ships pollute” and “No Aloha for cruise ships.” Indigenous
locals have complained that Holland America hasn’t held public hearings.
“Cruise lines don’t do public hearings,” said John Shively, vice
president of government and community affairs of Holland America.
Shively said Holland America wants to run cruise ships to Molokai first,
then gauge the impact on the community and the environment.
Which brings us to the cruise ship “Quality of Life Study.” Cruise ships
aren’t being unfairly singled out and blamed for all of the evils.
Florida Statutes require that an analysis of impacts of a proposed use
take place before the use commences. The study is the result of a legal
challenge filed by Last Stand over the fact that the impacts of the Mole
Pier were never analyzed, so positive recommendations to minimize,
mitigate or eliminate negative impacts were never considered. The city
agreed to perform this study in order to settle the challenge.
Without consensus or a plan, the city has allowed cruise ship
disembarkations to quadruple since the early 1990’s. Wells claims that
the “so-called” study is “yet another manifestation of blaming cruise
ships as the source of all things wrong with the Keys.”
Sometimes perception is reality. Maybe we really have surpassed our
carrying capacity. The United Nations Committee of Sustainable Tourism
notes that when the social carrying capacity of an island is surpassed,
cost of living increases along with overcrowding, traffic congestion and
noise pollution. A lower standard of living results for a significant
segment of the population and an attitude shift occurs whereby the
tourist is blamed for the majority of local problems.”
That sounds like us. |
