What do cruise ships do with sewage?

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

Is this true, does anyone know, do they really dump it into the ocean (this is from an email I received from care2action)?...

 

 

 

 

Each cruise ship carries an average of 3,000 people and produces as much sewage and waste as a mid-sized city. But unlike municipalities, cruise ships do not have to comply with environmental and water quality protection laws. They are allowed to dump sewage and garbage directly into our oceans -- and they do! Help end this practice, send a letter today>>

 

 

 

 

Imagine:

*25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets;

*143,00 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys, and showers;

*7 tons of garbage and chemical waste;

*15 gallons of toxic chemicals; and

*7,000 gallons of oily bilge water

 

Each day, a single cruise ship dumps an astonishing amount of pollution into our oceans, threatening the ecosystem and our coastlines. We can make them stop!

Unfortunately, the laws that keep of our lakes and river shores clean don’t apply to our oceans. Once a cruise ship is a mere 3 miles from shore it is free to dump untreated sewage from toilets riddled with bacteria, pathogens, and heavy metals which are easily carried to shore by waves.

And pollution by cruise lines continues to go largely unchecked while business soars. Last year alone, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. reported more than 2 billion dollars in profits. It is clear these wealthy cruise lines need the power of the pocketbook to change their practices.

Send a letter to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, the largest corporation in the industry urging they clean up their act! Imagine what a difference we make for our oceans>> http://go.*****.com/e/jcL/iH/e_GB

[cruisinbuddy]

It get's pumped out at every port. This is one of the reasons why we pay port taxes & Gov't fees. When you get to port you'll see a few big pipes attached to the ship, some are for fuel and the other(s) are for this. It would be illeagal to dump it at sea.

If you get the chance watch secret world of Cruise ships. Tin cans are crushed, glass bottles are smashed, dry garbage is compacted. It all gets taken off the ship in ports. Each ship has a garbage Officer in charge of this. Where did you get that info, it's wrong. Yes RCCL has been caught and paid a fine of something like $6,000,000,.00.

BTW Carnival and all of it's subsiduaries, Princess, Cunard to name two is the biggest.

[HERKIMER417]

While I was aware of the procedure already, Travel channel did a special on cruise ships and how they handle garbage.

 

Part of the segment showed the multiple treatment facilities within the ship.

It showed that the typical ship has segmented "hard" garbage compartments that crushed, held and palletize it for removal.

 

There is a special hold for non-organic items - such as oil. These would be pumped off the ship at ports.

 

Each ship also has several sewer treatment facilities for human waste and a facility to process other organic waste.

 

There are maritime regulations as to discharaging anything overboard - even water - within certain miles of shore. Beyond a certain mile mark - pretreated and process organic waste may be discharged with limits that are established by International rules.

 

This organic discharge is a food banquet for the small fish and creel that follow the ships. The ships would not discharge ( intentionally) harmful things.

 

Question- would you want to swim in discharge - I doubt it. The water is the backdrop for your enjoyment. It is in the cruise ships best interest to make a presentable play ground for you to enjoy and return to.

 

Your source is an off the wall alarmist and worse - total misinformed and wrong.

[watervillevalley]

I'm glad someone has mentioned the "grey water" cruise ships dump in the ocean. It's still pollution.

 

If anyone is going to Bermuda, it would be nice to write to their Dept. of Tourism which is on the net and ask them to please put in a sewer treatment plant on their island. Currently, they dump it 3/4 a mile offshore - 600 ft. down. While it supposedly doesn't make its way back to shore - it's all going into the ocean. I wrote a letter and they acknowledged that this is what they do. Maybe if we put some pressue on them - they will building that treatment plant. We can make a difference!

[K&RCurt]

Cruise ships do not, as a matter of normal practice, discharge sewage into the ocean. As HERKIMER noted, the sewage is treated on board. The "solid waste" is seperated from the "Liquid waste". The solids are then dried and the liquid from this process is added to the liquid waste stream. The liquid waste stream is purified via filtration, sterilized and then discharged. The discharged water is tested BEFORE it is released. The dischrge water is within the acceptable limits for drinking water in most of the USA. The dried solid waste is off-loaded in ports that have the capability to incinerate it for disposal.

 

You will sometimes hear of a cruise line getting fined for discharge of sewage. This is normally as a result of an error by a crew mwmber. The reason it makes the news is that it IS such a rare event.

[joeinsb]

I think the previous posters anwered the question. However, I'd like to say that cruise lines seem fair game for anyone who has some sort of an axe to grind. I call it "Cruise Ship Envy," which means these folks are ticked that someone out there is having fun while they are not.

 

As for pollution at sea, there are way more freighters plying the sea lanes that are far dirtier than cruise ships. And let's not forget pollution on land. Drive down an expressway in any American city (mine's LA) and you will see every conceivable form of pollution from diesel truck exhaust to the crap people throw out their car window. And unlike waste, Big Gulp cups don't recycle as easily.:mad:

[c_galle]

12 Miles for Sewage, 50 for oil. Oil can only be discharged in an emergancy. The Cruise Lines are not required to discharge in port, they choose to do so. It is too bad, but everything outside of 12 miles is international waters.

[jenjens1023]

If you get the chance watch secret world of Cruise ships.

 

I've seen this show mentioned before. What network has it, I'd love to see it.

[lougee1043]

compacted garbage that is to be offloaded at a port is kept under refrigeration til they reach port---the cold inhibits the growth of bacteria etc

[tomc]

jen

I've seen this show ("The Secret World of Cruise Ships") mentioned before. What network has it? I'd love to see it.

It's probably on The Travel Channel. Check discovery.com for TTC's program schedule; it's a good show.

[kingclick]

Here is some info.....

 

http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/cruise_ships/

http://bonita.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov/resourcepro/resmanissues/cruiseships.html

 

Hopefully this will be informative. And maybe a little less biased than a "Travel Channel" or a "Petition Website".

 

Maybe.....

[BND]

My DH who was an active duty and is now a reserve Naval Officer says 25 years ago a lot of ships, including the US Navy dumped all kinds of stuff overboard. That has all changed. Pretty much everyone, voluntarily doesn't do that anymore. They bring their garbage to port and treat their sewage (if they have the means). There is an officer on board US Navy ships whose job is to arrange to have the garbage disposed of properly. I know cruise ships have the same. I don't think people realize how massive the oceans are. As for fuel and oil, more oil is naturally released by the ocean floor than has ever been spilled or dumped by humans in total. BTW, the "garbage" that was dumped overboard was quickly consumed by sea life. Also, there is more fish and sea life decomposing in the oceans than garbage ever dumped.