It might be something we don’t think about much of the time, but keeping our oceans safe and clean goes hand in hand. From the US Coast Guard, the cruise lines, harbor pilots and environmental groups, many have a hand in protecting our oceans and keeping them safe to travel on, play in or just look at. Groups like travel writers and bloggers, marine law firms, and others also weigh in.
Sometimes these different groups get at odds with one another, but in the end, it seems as though they all do the right thing; protect the oceans.
The US Coast Guard, known and respected world-wide for their protection of US waters, is much more involved than one might imagine. As a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services, it is unique in that it has a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction both domestically and in international waters and as a federal regulatory agency.
Operating under the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard can also be transferred to the Department of the Navy at a time of war by the President or Congress. Besides rescue at sea, the Coast Guards missions include protecting against overfishing and protecting endangered species. On the environmental side they are also fighting against pollution, taking an active role in monitoring and investigating maritime accidents including oil spills, illegal discharges from ships plus cruise crew and passenger deaths I feel good about what the Coast Guard does and commend them for their service.
The major cruise lines work closely with the US Coast Guard on a daily basis, relying on their assistance in an emergency. The cruise lines also have fashioned environmental impact programs to help protect the oceans and keep crew and passengers safe at sea. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) weighs in on the topic, saying “The safety and security of cruise line passengers is the top priority of CLIA member cruise lines.”
Individual cruise lines all have their own programs to deal with health, environmental issues, safety and security. Princess Cruises, part of Carnival Corporation who owns several different cruise lines, aims to exceed industry and governmental standards impacting the ocean.
Still, environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth report that “Cruise ships release vast quantities of pollution into our coastal and ocean waters” and supports the Clean Cruise Ship Act. As earlier reported, this group ranked Florida’s Disney Cruise Line low but without a lot of measurable and comparable facts. Let’s touch on one topic briefly.
Right now, cruise ships are permitted to discharge waste into navigable waters more than three miles from shore. The Clean Cruise Ship act would prohibit cruise ships from discharging waste into navigable waters less than 12 nautical miles from U.S. Shore’s and would require that waste discharged beyond 12 nautical miles. The bill would impose liability for any criminal fines or civil penalties on the cruise ship itself.
Often, it is difficult to know who is telling the truth in these matters and sometimes the media is not much help.
When Friends of the Earth released their “Cruise Ship Environmental Report Card” earlier this year, they said “Millions of Americans take cruise vacations every year. However, most don’t realize that cruising is more harmful to the environment and human health than many other forms of travel. With ships that can carry up to 7,000 passengers and crew, these floating cities pollute the air we breathe and the water we use and enjoy.”
Ok, so they’re not exactly in the cruise lines corner on the topic.
The thing is: the cruise lines get it.
All major cruise lines have environmental policies and practices in place to minimize pollution and keep us safe at the same time. Are they perfect? Oh no, not at all. But they are headed in the right direction fast by plugging into dockside electrical outlets instead of powering their ships by running their diesel engines, scoring high on health inspections performed onboard by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and complying with Federal and State pollution standards for cruise ships.
Here in Florida, Disney Cruise Lines takes big steps in that right direction with good transparency on their environmental efforts even offering a website with a closer look at their “Behind the Waves” program.
That program and others like it for cruise lines are not big news. But say that cruise ships score low on a report issued by a fringe environmental group even without documentation to back it up and that’s big news.
Recently (as in going on right now), on a Princess cruise, a bunch of noted travel writers and bloggers were invited on board to write, blog and communicate via social media (search for #followmeatsea on Twitter) outlets about their experience. I was disappointed that when the whole thing was hijacked electronically by foes of the cruise industry, aiming to discredit efforts made to improve environmental impact.
I was not disappointed that those environmental people and even a maritime law expert chimed in but that the travel writers and bloggers stood by and let it happen without standing up for the industry that, basically, makes them a living. It reminds me of a contrast I noticed when doing a story on Florida’s harbor pilots not long ago.
This is a group of professionals who find themselves at odds with the cruise lines who claim they make too much money. That may very well be a debatable topic but these people are part of a system that works, keeps us safe and minimizes the environmental impact of cruise ships. They know their role in all of it and the Captain on the ship knows what they do and how their roles interact.
I have a great deal of respect for all these people and all these groups, some more than others. We can only hope that this system of interaction combined with regulation and enforcement continues to develop and improve.
Along the way, maybe I will learn to hang up that towel and help save the ocean too.
We are always told how safe cruise ships are. As passengers we take that for granted. Here, the Captain of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas introduces us to some extra measures on this ship like on no other. No big surprise there, this ship is all about stuff that is on it and no other…at least for now. As the latest and greatest the cruise industry has to offer, we expect cutting edge technology, unique and creative new ideas an exciting vacation that is everything we want it to be.
