Cruise Companies Get Up to Speed on the Environment

For a long time, environmentally speaking, cruise ships were the wicked stepsisters of the travel industry. Tales of black water being discharged over coral reefs and near island communities, massive amounts of garbage going over the side, wakes of plastic debris, followed the ships like the gulls.

But the times they are ‘a changin’ and while the cruise ship lines did not rise willingly, they really have risen to the occasion. The formerly wicked stepsisters are not just “greenwashing” themselves, but are truly turning a lovely shade of green and rising to serve as an example to others.

Take the Royal Caribbean International company for example. It owns both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity lines. It was among the wickedest of the stepsisters. Once slapped with an $8 million fine for oil discharges and falsified records, the company decided it was time to grow up.

Even prior to the fine RCI had began its Save the Waves program. It seeks to reduce waste generated on board and to recycle as much as possible as well as treat unavoidable waste. Since it has begun its ABC—Above and Beyond Compliance—program. RCI became the first cruise line to meet the tough international standard—ISO -14001 which not only imposes tough environmental standards but requires that each year companies continue to improve.

Some major cruise lines such as RCI and Carnival Cruise Lines have also established an environmental and safety department independent of the rest of its hierarchy of authority. On the ships, the environmental officer answers only directly to the captain of the vessel. The officer is responsible to see that all waste treatment and recycle regulations are scrupulously followed.

Thomas Vatianos, the Chief Environmental Officer on board Celebrity’s Infinity, is passionate about his job. His background is not maritime. He studied zoology in his native Greece, then went on to London to take an advanced degree in Environmental Science. Before taking his job, he had no idea such a position existed.

“I was delighted to learn about it because I was concerned about environmental issues for small communities, and a ship is a small community,” he said.

Starting with the running of the ship itself, all the newer ships have gas turbine engines which are “zero emission” and use biofuels whenever possible. Vatianos has to work with the Chief Engineer and his crew to ensure the standards are regularly met.

Vatianos also works with the navigational crew. “I alert the crew to protected areas such as marine preserves. We do not pass through them.”
The treatment of gray and black water also falls under his department. “We use AWP—Advanced Wastewater Purification. It exceeds international regulations. In fact, we have adopted as our standard, the standards set by California and Alaska, the toughest in the world.”

These standards require not only that the waste be treated but even after it is treated that it be dumped more than 12 nautical miles offshore.

Carnival Cruises, the world’s largest cruise company, also paid the largest fine in 2002 when it was slapped with a whopping $18 million for a variety of charges including dumping oily bilge water off Florida’s coast and falsifying its records about it. Carnival, too, woke up and went into action. It developed a three step bilge processing technique and in 2004 earned its international ISO -14001 certification. Carnival has also invested in green ship building with its newer ‘Spirit Class” ships which have won a coveted “Green Star” from RINA (Registro Italiano Navale Group), an Italian ship rating association.

Carnival also worked in conjunction with the International Seakeepers Society, collecting samples and monitoring global water quality. In 2006 NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) recognized the company for its environmental work in the Caribbean.

No matter what it has accomplished, the industry may and be facing a bigger challenge in Alaskan waters than it can meet right now. Beginning in 2010, Alaskan voters have decided on even tougher standards. The technology for such standards is in development but looks as though it won’t be ready by 2010. Some Alaskan legislators are seeking an extension on the timeline until the new methods are ready.

Richard Pruit of RCI said, “There is simply no equipment out there that can do the job we’re looking at. The standards create a vast disparity between the cruise industry and the other Alaskan dischargers.”

The new standards do not apply to Alaska’s own busy ferry system for example.

“If the standards go into effect, there will have to be changes to itineraries and maybe the whole deployment of the fleet,” Pruit added.
Since the cruise industry contributes $1.35 billion to the state’s economy each season, legislators are working across party lines to see if the standards can be postponed until technology can catch up. Ironically, a $50 per person per voyage head tax that Alaska collects could build shore facilities to handle the wastes effectively right now.

There is strong competition between cruising companies to constantly develop new environmental equipment and standards – competition that makes environmental advocates like Vatianos and his colleagues very happy. RCI has established Ocean Fund, which finances environmental research.

One other area the ships have addressed is solid wastes. The first effort is to reduce it as much as possible even down to using syrups for soft drinks instead of bottles and cans. Food waste is pulped and incinerated, not simply dumped. Plastic waste is incinerated. Recyclables are sorted and recycled and companies have arrangements with the ports they touch.

“With our company, the money made from selling the recycled items on shore goes into the crew welfare fund which, among other things, pays for a party for the crew at the end of a cruise.” Vatianos grinned. “It’s an extra motivation to make sure as much as possible is recycled.”

To make sure the crew gets the message, in the first 48 hours of their training they receive an environmental education. Vatianos also tries to raise the consciousness of the passengers to eco-concerns. Passengers are encouraged to reduce laundry needs, and are advised to never throw anything overboard. They get a flyer about the Save the Waves program and get instructions about special waste treatments for chemicals that might harm the sea environment as well as energy saving tips.

Captain Athanasios Peppas, Vatianos’ boss, acknowledges the ugly past of the industry. “Long ago, it was everything overboard. Not very nice. Now it is very different. We are very careful.”

He said he relies on his environmental officer to advise him. “Our environmental people have good training.”

Vatianos says the other officers, including the Captain, respond to environmental issues he raises instantly. “But we, the cruise ships, are easy to target. I am concerned about what happens at sea on other types of ships, such as large tankers. No one has authority over them and there is no global regulation over their practices,” Vatianos said. “I think our future on this planet depends on education. The children will know we are part of the environment and it is in our best interests to protect it.”

Some improvements he would like to see in the future is greater use of wind and solar power. He is very happy about the company’s newest Solstice ships which use solar power, but sees future ships being even better—maybe using energy from waves.

“I picture ships with scoops or wings jutting into the water to capture the clean power,” he said.

It’s a poetic thought—cleanly powered winged ships. But even now it is a comforting reality that one can enjoy the pleasures of a cruise with a cleaner conscience on a cleaner ship. Indeed, until airlines can make the transition to bio-fuel, getting to a port to catch a cruise ship does more environmental damage than a long cruise at sea.