Ocean pollution?

How do cruise ships impact the health of our oceans?

Cruise ships, as floating resorts, create large amounts of pollution in the form of blackwater (sewage), grey water (from sinks, showers, laundry), incinerator ash, oily bilge water, ballast water, and scrubber wash. The presence of large ships also affects marine life, for example: creating noise that affects whale communication, pollution that impacts marine animal food sources, and ship-strikes of whales.

Do cruise ships use Canada as a “toilet bowl for polluted waste”?

According to a July 2022 Guardian investigation:

“More than 31bn litres (8.5bn US gallons) a year of pollution is estimated to be discharged off the west coast of Canada by cruise ships on their way to and from Alaska, according to a report by the environmental organisations Stand.earth and West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL).

“Across Canada’s 151,019 mile (243,042km) coastline, ships generate 147bn litres of harmful waste each year, equivalent to 59,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to a March 2022 report by WWF-Canada. Based on data from more than 5,000 vessels, the report found cruise ships were the largest polluters, despite making up only 2% of the marine traffic analysed.

“Cruise ship pollution includes large volumes of toxic sewage from toilets, greywater from sinks, showers and laundries, and bilge water – the oily liquid that collects at the lowest part of a ship. By far the largest source of pollution identified in the WWF report was from so-called scrubbers – devices installed to remove exhaust gases such as sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide, as well as particulates, from the heavy bunker oil used as marine fuel. The scrubbers create an acidic wastewater containing a cocktail of chemicals.”

Has Ocean Pollution increased in the past decade?

It appears so. Unfortunately, well-intentioned regulations may have had the effect of turning air pollution into ocean pollution. Regulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA) have attempted to reduce air pollution by mandating a switch to lower sulphur emissions (to 0.5% and 0.1% respectively). The intent was to have ships switch to using lower sulphur marine oil fuels, although the use of scrubbers is allowed.

Many ships continue to use heavy oil fuel which is about half the price of low sulphur fuel. The ships are able to do so by installing exhaust gas cleaning systems (commonly known as scrubbers).

How do Scrubbers work?

Scrubbing is a process that uses seawater or freshwater to remove sulphur and other contaminants from the exhaust when heavy oil fuel is used - thus reducing emissions released into the air to comply with IMO and ECA regulations. The problem is, the wash water from scrubber use can be toxic to marine life, and is often released straight into the marine environment, both on the open ocean and in ports. Scrubber wash water discharges contain pollutants such as metals, hydrocarbons and acids. The use of scrubbers effectively turns air pollution into ocean pollution.

How have countries and ports reacted to the use of scrubbers?

Many governments and ports around the world have restricted the use of scrubbers, including California, Norway, China, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Sweden, Malaysia, Dublin and Seattle.

On the BC coast, the port of Vancouver has implemented scrubber wash water discharge restrictions while ships are at anchorage or at berth. Vancouver’s port requires ships to either hold wash water on board, switch to low sulphur fuel or connect to shore power. More extensive restrictions within the port are considered for the future, pending additional research on the impacts of scrubber technology on air quality and human health. The Port of Prince Rupert also banned scrubber wash water discharges in 2023.

What about Victoria?

The cruise ship terminal in Victoria currently has no shore power and no scrubber wash water restrictions in effect. According to the 2019 Alaska Ocean Ranger annual report and independent research, most cruise ships visiting Victoria have scrubbers on board.

An ICCT presentation by Stand.Earth to Victoria Council on June 10, 2021, estimated that over 160,000 tonnes of scrubber wash water discharges are released in Victoria Harbour annually, based on modelled calculations by the International Council on Clean Transportation.