Cruise Ship Contamination

The popularity of spending a vacation on a cruise ship has rapidly increased over the past thirty years. To meet these needs over 50 companies control over 300 cruise ships, which sail the oceans of the world with millions of passengers. Big cruise liners can carry up to 5,000 people, including a crew of more than 1,000, which makes them genuine floating cities. These passengers wash, eat, go to the bathroom and participate in many activities on board the ships. All of this generates waste and part of this waste is released into the ocean. The ships also give off engine pollutants like oil and diesel which are transferred into the ocean. Have you ever thought about the waste from these cruise ships?

Let me direct you to an article published by Oceana that informs us about the huge amount of waste created by these cruise vessels which is dumped into the ocean daily. "If we were talking about a coastal resort instead of a cruise ship, national and international treaties, agreements and legislation would be far stricter, making it obligatory for any effluent generated to be specially processed to prevent the dangerous dumping of fecal water, grey water, hydrocarbons, heavy metals and other toxic substances. However, cruise ships can dump all kinds of organic waste and untreated water when they are more than four miles out from the coast"

The dropping of cruise ship anchors on the ocean floor or on coral reefs has had an impact on the marine life. "In addition to climate change, dumping from land, deforestation and abusive and destructive fishing, coral reefs also have to contend with the damage caused by the anchors of recreational vessels and now the enormous anchors of cruise ships. In the Caribbean, the island of Grand Cayman has witnessed the destruction of 1.2 million square metres of coral reef by cruise ship anchors; in the Cancun National Park (Mexico), 80% of the coral sea beds have been damaged by these vessels; and in areas such as Jamaica and Florida, the coral reefs, which now only have between 5% and 10% of their coral left alive, are also being faced with this threat."

Legislation dealing with waste dumping in the ocean was made long ago, before this abundance of cruise ships became a factor. It is important for governments and cruise ship owners like Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to make a commitment to preventing the dumping of waste materials which may be toxic to the oceans ecosystems.