On 18th August, Transport Canada reported that the first results of a cruise ship environmental reporting scheme demonstrated that the industry has successfully implemented the new measures thus far this year.
These new measures were introduced in April and concerned strict environmental measures being put in place for cruise ships’ wastewater.
According to Transport Canada, these measures exceeded international standards and were put in place as part of the cruise ship restart in Canadian waters.
Part of this new suite of environmental measures, the cruise industry was, and continues to be, required to document and report to Transport Canada on implementation. Compliance with the enhanced measures is also verified during formal cruise ship inspections.
The successful reporting was described as being significant progress towards reducing the environmental impacts of cruise ships and other vessels on Canadian waters.
These strict measures, along with additional planned measures for other areas of concern, including scrubber discharges that release acidic wastewater into the ocean, will continue to help keep the waters and environment clean, Transport Canada said.
They are consistent with the Canadian Government’s commitment to keep marine ecosystems safe and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
“Cruise ships are an important part of our economy and tourism sector, and we must all work together to reduce their impact on the environment, and keep our waters safe and clean for everyone. These new environmental measures are a first step towards making shipping cleaner and protecting our waters from coast to coast to coast,” said Hon Omar Alghabra, Canadian Minister of Transport (pictured).
“Protecting the oceans and their ecosystems is a top priority. These important measures, which exceed international standards, demonstrate how the Government of Canada is taking strong action to protect the oceans for the future. This charts a more sustainable course for the tourism industry,” added Hon Joyce Murray,
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Transport Canada also said that out of 47 cruise ships to enter Canadian waters up to the middle of August this year, only one vessel was unable to fully implement the new measures, as a result of geographical/technical limitations and for safety reasons.
The cruise ship industry, which represents more than $4 bill annual input into the Canadian economy and directly and indirectly generates around 30,000 jobs, is an important part of Canada’s domestic tourism sector.
Wastewater refers to both greywater and blackwater. Greywater is drainage from sinks, laundry machines, bathtubs, shower-stalls, or dishwashers. Blackwater is the wastewater from bathroom and toilets, the Government explained.
