Topic: The Clean Cruise Ship Act

Two members of Congress in the US have proposed legislation to prohibit cruise ships from dumping sewage and other waste into coastal waters.

The Clean Cruise Ship Act, proposed Wednesday by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), would establish a no-dumping zone in waters within 12 nautical miles of U.S. shores and strengthen the standards for treatment of waste outside the zone. The bill would also create an onboard monitoring program to make sure the ships are complying.

"Big cruise ships make for big pollution," Farr said in a news release. "Unfortunately, responsible disposal of that waste hasn't always been a given. The cruise ship industry is way overdue to take responsibility for its actions."

In a single week, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an average cruise ship with 3,000 passengers can generate 200,000 gallons of sewage and 1 million gallons of gray water, which comes from bathroom drains and kitchens.

In response to the proposed bill, the Cruise Lines International Association issued a statement asserting that the cruise industry has been "a leader in the maritime industry's effort to reduce its environmental footprint." Last year, association ships received an average sanitation score of slightly above 97 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The minimum score required is 85.

QUOTE:

In response to the proposed bill,
the Cruise Lines International Association issued a statement
asserting that the cruise industry has been "a leader in the maritime industry's effort to reduce its environmental footprint."

Last year, association ships received an average sanitation score
of slightly above 97 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The minimum score required is 85.

Back in April I was lucky to do a behind-the-scenes tour
of a Royal Caribbean Radiance class vessel. ;)

I learned a lot about how cruise ship onboard systems operate.
Judging from what their environmental officer was telling us,
12 miles offshore was already their limit, and not just for the US.

Strikes me that this proposed bill is a bit of shutting the stable door
after the horse is mostly in compliance?
..although I'm sure there are still a few stinkers out there
who discharge wherever and whenever they can get away with it.

Cruise ship discharges generally ..are now a long long way away
from what they were thirty years ago!


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Most of you will never get to see this stuff..


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It always amuses me when some anti-smokers accuse fellow cruisers of polluting their air. They don't seem able to appreciate the irony of travelling on huge diesel-guzzling vessels which burn hundreds of tons of fuel a day.

Friends of the Earth have produced a Cruise Ship Environmental Report Card which rates ten major cruise lines on factors including both water and air pollution. If you want to know the best and the worst, visit:

http://www.foe.org/cruisereportcard

So what!

I am not cruising american waters and don't care if they are knee deep in sewage.

Hopefully this thread is not a sign of the americanisation of this forum.

For me the attraction of this forum is the topics and questions are mainly british. If I want american stuff I can go elsewhere.

rant over.

QUOTE:

So what!
I am not cruising american waters and don't care if they are knee deep in sewage.

Hopefully this thread is not a sign of the americanisation of this forum.

For me the attraction of this forum is the topics and questions are mainly british.
If I want american stuff I can go elsewhere.

rant over.

Like it or not, my friend
but that sort of American stuff eventually filters all over the world
as they set the required standards -and we all follow!

You might take note of the fact that their NTSB has done wonders
to research plane crashes to improve airliner safety for us all?
-just one example!

I care if they are knee deep in sewage
because all the world's seas and oceans are one big body of water
in case you haven't noticed..
of which the overall,global water-quality degrades per hour, as we speak
so "be careful what you wish for".

Think Globally--Act Locally: this is your planet too! ;)


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End of Lecture.
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Mmm! me posting in the early morning is not a good idea as my brain is still in snarl mode.

What rattled my cage was another thread about american issues.

As far as dumping sewage at sea is concerned apparently Marpol Annex IV is the relevant document. Allegedly the UK banned dumping of raw sewage within 12 miles of the coast from September 27th this year!

Our air accident investigators do a brilliant job as well but I am biased as producing graphics for their reports was part of my job a few years ago.

QUOTE:

So what!

I am not cruising american waters and don't care if they are knee deep in sewage.

Hopefully this thread is not a sign of the americanisation of this forum.

For me the attraction of this forum is the topics and questions are mainly british. If I want american stuff I can go elsewhere.

rant over.

The gulf currents bring it over to us up through the straits of Dover and into the Thames and Medway. MMM the stink is from the USA :D

Not to worry Dave...happens to me too.
Sometimes I think the better of a post and go back to just delete it -Pooof!

I too wake up in snarl mode,sometimes
often as a result of a nasty headache problem I have, re. a damaged upper neck
- I need new rubber bushings! :D


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I'd like to think that very few ships dump raw sewage out there.
I'd like to believe that most modern cruise ships process it to a point
where it's fairly harmless stuff, by the time it gets discharged.

At least that's what the environmental officer on the RCI vessel was saying
and it's hard to reconcile RCI's dismal rating of F
(as displayed at the www.foe.org website provided, above)
with what I heard and witnessed on board.

I'm thinking the F rating applies to their whole fleet of ships
not the Radiance class vessel I visited?



Glass disposal is particularly difficult

and down in the grunge-disposal dept.
your broken wine glass is crushed and stored
along with all other glass disposed of...wine bottles, etc.
until a suitable disposal arrangement can be made, on shore.
It's the one substance they can't process, at sea.
Everything else gets filtered and/or passed thru 3 UV killer-filters

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