Do Cruise Ships Dump Waste In Ocean

Cruise ship discharges of solid waste are governed by two federal laws.

Do cruise ships dump waste in ocean. However many companies will set their own regulations that their ships have to comply with. Yes you read that correctly Most cruise ships are equipped with a modern wastewater management system onboard complete with engineers who monitor the treatment of waste that goes down the drains and toilets on the ship. Just like in a small city cruise ships have on-site waste recycling plants packed with trash-eating appliances.

Princess Cruises was fined 40 million in 2016 for illegal dumping and Carnival got hit with a 20 million fine in 2019 for disposing of plastic waste in the ocean. Law allows cruise ships to dump raw sewage in the ocean once a ship is more than three miles off US. It is a general belief that cruise ships simply dump their garbage to the ocean.

According to that 12-mile cut-off cruise ships are allowed to dump human waste in the ocean providing the right conditions are met. These floating resorts dump over a billion gallons of sewage into the open ocean. Cruise ships like Symphony have a designated waste and recycling center.

In fact according to the latest Cruise Ship Report Card by Friends of the Earth they might be about the worst. This is because they are constantly on the move making waste management and disposal an added challenge to their day to day operations. Do cruise ships dump garbage in the ocean.

Yes cruise ships can dump sewage into the ocean. A common misconception is that once a ship is out in the open ocean they dump human waste into the water. A Royal Caribbean cruise ship sails up the Hudson River in New York City Gary HershornGetty Images.

Cruise ships the size of small cities ply the waters off our coasts producing and then dumping large amounts of sewage and other wastes. This is a genuine photograph showing two dark brownish clouds in the waters surrounding a cruise ship but it doesnt document that ships dumping human waste into the ocean. This means the ship can deal with their own waste ranging all the way from recycling to water filtration.