Environmental impact of cruise tourism raises concerns

Saturday, June 29, 2019

The 2019 edition of Friends of the Earth has released its cruise ship report card documenting the environmental footprint of the cruise industry and grading 16 cruise lines and their 185 ships.

In 2016’s last released report card it was found that there was an ongoing lack of initiative by a majority of cruise companies to reduce air and water pollution impact on travel destinations and local peoples.

An ‘F’ grade was received by all seven cruise companies under the Carnival Corporation brand. The ‘F’ grade is branded as “blatant illegal pollution” by Friends of the Earth.

Carnival Corporation has been on criminal probation in the United States for illegally dumping oily waste into the ocean and obstruction of justice for hiding it from regulators over the past and a half years.

Each of the company’s cruise lines continued to commit hundreds of environmental crimes, including dumping wastewater and plastic into the ocean and polluting our air in excess of federal and state rules despite being on probation. This was argued by Friends of the Earth.

Marcie Keever, oceans and vessels program director for Friends of the Earth said that Carnival Corporation’s despicable behaviour shows that they cannot take this polluting industry’s claims of environmental responsibility at face value.

There should be investigation on the entire industry which should be held responsible for the destructive behavior.

According to him Carnival Corporation should be forced to spend some of their massive profits to clean up the communities they have dumped on.This egregious case of wrongdoing shows just how critically they need federal agency and congressional oversight of cruise industry pollution practices.

Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer, Carnival Corporation, said that this is simply a fundraising tool, not a valid research study, since the report card lacks the appropriate level of research or scientific rigor and the categories are completely random.

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