Cruise Ship Pollution
We need to Protect Marine life, Wildlife, and Human Heath
These ships are floating cities. Small ships have over 3000 people on board (passengers & crew) and the largest one over 9,500. This requires significant power generation and associated exhaust when in a port. To save money cruise ships traditionally burn "bunker fuel" to generate power. Pitch black and thick as molasses, it is made from the dregs of the refining process. It is loaded with sulfur, heavy metals, and other toxins that, when burned, produce noxious gasses and fine particles that can harm human health and the environment. Some of the toxicants are “scrubbed” from the exhaust, but open-loop scrubbers flush this directly into the water. There is also water pollution from offshore dumping of gray/black water. In addition to water pollution the air pollution, light pollution, and noise pollution are of concern.
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Pollution, Accidental Dumping, Fires, & Collisions
Accidents occur more than one might think in the cruise industry. Many are minor, but serious ones can devastate a community. In November 2023 a Carnival (Princess’ parent company) cruise ship, dumped sludge into Grand Turk port waters during a power outage. Cruise lines have also had to deal with fires, and other accidents. The Virginia's waters are already unhealthy (i.e five Virginia rivers have a health rating of “D,” from the UMD Center for Environmental Sciences). Additional pollution (either deliberate or accidental) would further degrade the Virginia waters and impact both marine life and wildlife. Other accidents can stress local infrastructure (fire, police, medical) or cause damage property.