11 comments
Cruise ships carry a high environmental toll. Most cruise ships burn low grade bunker fuel laden with sulfur oxides, heavy metals, and other toxicants. Pollutants from exhaust emissions are removed by ship scrubbers spraying seawater into smokestacks and returning the acidic wash water laden with heavy metals etc. back into the environment, turning air pollution into a water pollution problem. This is unsatisfactory for the fragile Chesapeake Bay.
Cruise ship exhaust poisons the air. The low grade bunker fuel burned by cruise ships is laden with sulfur oxides and heavy metals that are carcinogenic to human lungs.
Cruise ships do nothing but spew toxic chemicals into the air. The rest of us have the right to breathe fresh air. You do not get to destroy the environment and kill wildlife for YOUR profit.
I am commenting in support of the petition due to the associated risks and negatives impact of ocean class cruise ships on the environment specifically regards air pollution, climate change, etc. As a people, a country, a state, we work hard to maintain clean air, particularly around areas of heavy activity, cities, ports, bays, and estuaries. Large cruise ships, essentially small floating cities, add to the challenge of maintaining clean air due to the types of fuels they use, producing toxic products. The onboard technologies employed to control these toxic discharges are often not operated OR particularly not maintained, in the proper manner as to achieve the levels of performance that they advertise, thus releasing the undesirable toxins into the atmosphere. Accordingly I support and recommend approval of the petition.
As a marine biologist, I write to urge this board to carefully consider the potential harms of cruise ship pollution to Virginia’s coastal ecosystems and the public health of our citizens. Most cruise ships use a very dirty grade of so called “bunker fuel”, or Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), which is a tarry sludge leftover from the crude oil refining process. Emission of toxic nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides from the burning of HFOs is an ongoing serious threat to global human and environmental health, and an acute spill of this low-grade fuel would be disastrous in any marine environment.
In 2020, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) set new tougher standards for sulfur emissions, and subsequently the global shipping fleet is in the process of switching to lighter, cleaner fuels. But to save money, the cruise industry has chosen to use scrubbers or Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) to reduce sulfur in the exhaust, rather than switch to more expensive fuels. The types of scrubbers used by most are open-loop systems and do not solve the pollution problem, they just transfer it from the air to the water, which becomes more acidic and laden with toxic PAHs and heavy metals. The problem may be worse in estuaries (such as the Chesapeake Bay) than in the open ocean, because scrubbers are known to be less effective in brackish waters. Coastal habitats and fisheries are acutely vulnerable to the effects of water pollution, and are of major economic and recreational importance to coastal communities.
To summarize, environmental concerns include atmospheric pollution and ocean acidification, toxic discharges from open loop exhaust scrubbers (currently banned in 120 ports globally), and wastewater discharges. Fine particulates, residual sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides
found in cruise ship exhaust can cause asthma, emphysema and cancer.
Cruise ship waste streams and accidental pollution incidents are increasing in proportion to the burgeoning growth of the industry, and the resulting public health and environmental issues are serious and complex. Please enact tougher cruise ship regulations for the good of the Commonwealth. The very real economic cost to human health, the seafood industry, and coastal ecosystems far outweighs the meager economic benefit of unregulated cruise traffic in our waters. For more detailed information, please visit https://protect-virginia.org/
Cruise ships are getting bigger, and the smaller ships are looking for other ways into land via ports that haven't even been established yet. These smaller ships (3000+ people) are older and lack the cleaner set up of the newer ships. These ships are not well maintained and have a history of pollution and accidents. We do not need to cause further harm to our environment and the precious Chesapeake Bay. Please protect our air and our precious ecosystem from these monstrosities. Putting bans on scrubbers would help protect our fragile ecosystem and forcing the ships to use shore power if they came into port would also help protect us from being overrun by these foreign flagged ships that evade U.S. taxes, labor laws, and exploit the poor cities that host them.
I am a resident of James City County. Having partaken in many cruises across the world, I would have the experience and critical thinking skills to opine.
Cruise ships are among the most significant contributors to climate change, particularly in Antarctica. The black carbon emissions from these vessels are accelerating the melting of snow on the continent. It’s important to note that Antarctica is melting at an accelerated rate and is responsible for a third of all sea level rise.
Consider the impacts a cruise ship would have on a small river town. It could devastate the environment through air pollution from carbon emissions and by dumping wastewater and sewage into the river, harming marine life and ecosystems.
Cruise ship pollution will disrupt and degrade the natural habitat of both the York River and the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. One cruise ship can emit the same amount of sulfur dioxide as 13.1 million cars in a day. Imagine the impact this would have on our ecosystem and small community.
Facts:
All waste flushed down the toilet on the cruise liner will ultimately end up in the water, contaminating marine ecosystems.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that a cruise ship carrying 3,000 passengers produces 210,000 gallons of sewage each week.
The CO2 emissions from a cruise ship are 1,000 times greater than those from a train journey.
Princess Cruise Lines has faced multiple fines for environmental violations, including:
In 2016, Princess Cruises and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, pleaded guilty to seven felony charges for illegally dumping oil-contaminated waste and falsifying records to conceal this pollution. The waste included gray water, bilge water, and black oil. The resulting fine of $40 million was the largest ever imposed for intentional vessel pollution.
In 2019, Princess Cruise Lines and Carnival Corporation were fined $20 million for violating their probation due to environmental offenses committed in 2016.
During the first year of probation, up to 800 violations were recorded. Many of these offenses were deemed more serious than the original violation. One significant violation was the dumping by Holland America Westerdam, where 22,500 gallons of gray water were discharged into Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, now the fastest-melting glacier on Earth.
Carnival Corporation committed thousands of violations from 2017 to 2022 while on federal criminal probation. It's obvious they would rather pay fines than improve their practices.
Today, towns are starting to see the negative impacts from having cruise ships docked in their ports. This has resulted in many tourist spots pushing back against the industry's presence. We can't afford to take the chance that these horrifying practices won't continue to happen here.
The DEQ should carefully consider the issue of discharges by the cruise ship industry into sensitive environmental areas of Virgina's bays and rivers. The negative impact on the economically important fisheries industry and to the health of the public in the Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay communities, once contamination from these floating cities occurs, is not easily mitigated. Remediation is much more expensive than prevention.
Stop Polluting the water with Cruise Ships. Protect the Sea Life and their Natural Habitat.
NO cruise ships in any of Virginia’s waterways.