Cruising is a dirty business. The environmental group Oceana reports that every day, cruise ships produce:
- 25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets
- 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys and showers
- Seven tons of garbage and solid waste
- 15 gallons of toxic chemicals
- 7,000 gallons of oily bilge water
For some reason, cruise ships are not required to get permits to dump sewage in the ocean, though on-land businesses and enterprises are.
As Oceana writes: “Once outside of three miles from the U.S. coastline, cruise ships can also lawfully release untreated sewage, or black water, anywhere (except in the Alexander Archipelago in Alaska, where treated sewage and gray water may be discharged only while cruise ships are under way, traveling at least six knots). Cruise ships are required to have onboard waste treatment systems, known as marine sanitation devices (MSDs), but the industry is not required to monitor or report MSD discharges to either the government or the public. A study in Alaska showed that sewage from large cruise vessels “treated” by MSDs failed to meet federal standards for treated sewage in 69 out of 70 samples. Cruise ships also are not required to monitor the quality of the waters into which they routinely dump their waste.”
The Seattle International Travel Examiner , meanwhile, looked at sustainability initiatives in the cruising industry. There are a few, but not enough.