Thursday, April 08, 2004
By Tim Molloy, Associated Press
SANTA MONICA, California — Environmentalists called on Royal Caribbean
Wednesday to protect marine habitats and human health by cleaning
up sewage and wastewater dumped from its cruise ships.
A ship can dump up to 30,000 gallons of sewage a day as well as
255,000 gallons of "gray water" from laundries, showers,
sinks, and dishwashers, the nonprofit advocacy organization Oceana
and other groups said at a press conference.
"We're calling on them to end the wake of shame," said
Moira Chapin, a field organizer for Environment California.
Oceana organizer Jesse Littlewood said pollution from cruise ships
contributes to oxygen-free ocean dead zones and algae buildup that
kills marine life and may threaten human health.
Littlewood said the company should begin using advanced wastewater
treatment systems on all its ships. Royal Caribbean has such systems
on three vessels, but its other 25 ships use Coast Guard–approved
marine sanitation devices that have been criticized as inefficient.
The company issued a statement saying the environmentalists were
"grandstanding" and ignoring Royal Caribbean's cleanup
efforts. Company spokesman Michael Sheehan said the company follows
U.S. Coast Guard and international regulations on waste disposal.
The advanced water treatment systems haven't worked well on two
of the three company ships that have them, and the company is seeking
better designs, Sheehan said. Littlewood said the systems cost about
$2 million a ship, but Sheehan said they would be more expensive.
Sheehan said Royal Caribbean has improved its environmental practices
since 1999, when it paid $27 million after acknowledging it had
polluted repeatedly and lied to the Coast Guard about it.
"We used that as a catalyst to try to be a leader in the industry,"
Sheehan said.
The company statement said Royal Caribbean dumps only 12 miles
or more from shore, but Littlewood said loopholes in clean water
laws allow cruise ships to dump three miles out.
Source: Associated Press
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