Over 60% of the world cruise ship fleet is in the Caribbean in the winter high season... ...bigger and bigger ships today... which apparently have less than adequate emergency back-up systems to allow safe operation of the vessel in the event of a major fire or severe grounding or collision

Is the Caribbean prepared for a cruise ship environmental disaster?


By Robert Maclellan



In the last six weeks, two cruise ships from the same company, Costa Cruises, have experienced very serious incidents that could have resulted in potentially disastrous damage to the marine environment in tourism sensitive areas of the world.

Both ships drifted helplessly, without power or steering capability, the Costa Concordia capsizing on rocks near the Italian tourist island of Giglio and the Costa Allegra coming within 20 miles of the pristine Alphonse group of coral atolls in the Seychelles.

In the Caribbean -- which is THE most tourism dependent region in the world – Costa Cruises have ships calling in ports in Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos Islands, St Maarten, The Bahamas, Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, Belize and the Cayman Islands.  Costa is part of Carnival Group and their ships, including Princess, P&O, Holland America, Cunard, Seabourne and Aida cruise lines, call at almost every major island in the region and the group’s financial resources dwarf the GDP of most Caribbean economies.

In total, over 60% of the world cruise ship fleet is in the Caribbean in the winter high season – bigger and bigger ships today, which apparently have less than adequate emergency back-up systems to allow safe operation of the vessel in the event of a major fire or severe grounding or collision.

The Italian Coast Guard employed multiple vessels and helicopters in rescue attempts at the scene of the Costa Concordia and a large French fishing vessel first took the Costa Allegra under tow.  A Dutch salvage company was soon alongside, pumping out the Costa Concordia’s fuel tanks to reduce the pollution potential, although the ship apparently may still break up on the rocks and scatter all kinds of debris.  What resources exist in most Caribbean islands to limit the effect of a similar or greater cruise ship disaster?

Off the Italian coast the ship hit rocks, while in the Seychelles and in the Caribbean the resulting damage would likely be caused to reefs.  The damage to Caribbean reefs and the marine environment -- simply from cruise ship anchors and disposal of garbage overboard -- has been well documented in the past.  However, a serious grounding or collision could result in a devastating long term environmental disaster.  Most cruise ships move to other regions of the world at the end of the winter season and detailed Caribbean island cruise itineraries can be readily changed.  Therefore, in the event of a disaster, it is a single or small group of island governments that will bear the full impact.

How much assistance and cooperation have Caribbean governments received from cruise lines to finance and resource effective disaster planning to mitigate these risks?  In recent years the spend on island per cruise ship passenger appears to have declined significantly, while Caribbean government port taxes have not even kept up with inflation in the region.  Today’s cruise ship business model is a highly aggressive one, in terms of both its competitive position with Caribbean hotels in high season, and its resultant negative impact on inward investment for new resorts.  Is it not time that the fiscal contribution of cruise lines to the Caribbean more fairly reflected their impact on the local environment and, ultimately, their potential for environmental disaster in the region?

Robert Maclellan is CEO of MacLellan & Associates, the largest hospitality, tourism and leisure consultancy based in the Caribbean.  He has worked in the hotel industry across the Caribbean and was a cruise ship hotel officer and vice president hotel services of a cruise line earlier in his career.

March 3, 2012

caribbeannewsnow

Caribbean countries take action to protect the marine environment from garbage

CURACAO, Netherlands Antilles -- Decisive action by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at its 60th Session (22 to 26 March 2010), has resulted in the adoption of a resolution prohibiting the discharge of all garbage by ships in the Wider Caribbean Region as of 1 May 2011.

With the adoption of an MEPC resolution establishing 1 May 2011 as the date on which the MARPOL 73/78 Annex V (Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships) Special Area regulations take effect in the Wider Caribbean, this region becomes the 6th zone to be protected against the discharge of all garbage from ships, other than organic materials under certain conditions (based on distance from shore and particle size).

Others include the Baltic Sea (effective since October 1989), the North Sea (February 1991), the Antarctic area (south of latitude 60 degrees south) (March 1992), the "Gulfs" area (August 2008) and the Mediterranean Sea (May 2009). The entry into force of the Special Area status in the Black and Red Seas, which have also been designated under the Annex V, is not yet effective.

Although the effective date is approximately one year from today, MEPC still calls on Governments and Industry to comply with the Special Area requirements as soon as possible.

The adoption of the resolution follows the notification at the same MEPC session by 22 Caribbean Parties to the MARPOL 73/78 Convention that sufficient adequate reception facilities for garbage are provided in most relevant ports within the region.

In the Wider Caribbean Region, 25 Countries are Parties to MARPOL and its Annex V. This Annex prohibits the discharge of all plastics, but allows, under certain conditions, for the discharge of other types of garbage (e.g. dunnage, paper, lining, metal, etc.), unless in designated Special Areas.

MEPC, recognizing the sensitivity of the Wider Caribbean Region (by assessing its specificities, such as the oceanography, the undersea topography, the interconnectedness of the area’s ecosystems and the shipping traffic in the region), designated the region as a Special Area under Annex V in 1991. However, due to a lack of capacity and an absence of notifications to IMO of the location of adequate reception facilities, the status had yet to become effective.

The Wider Caribbean Region contains 28 coastal and insular Countries that have coasts (may it be overseas territories) on the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and part of the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of more than 3.3 million km2, from the United States of America to French Guiana.

The region’s highly productive but extremely sensitive ecosystems provide a livelihood for many coastal communities (tourism, artisanal and industrial fisheries, sea bed exploitation) and more than 41 million people live within 10 km of the coastline.

Garbage in the marine environment poses several issues, whether environmental or socio-economic. It can damage habitats, cause the death of wildlife, but also impact the quality of life of local communities and affect the economies of a region, notably by its consequences on tourism.

A study conducted by UNEP assessed that litter from ocean-based sources of pollution (such as fishing nets, gear and supplies, ropes, etc.) accounted for at least 11% of all marine litter in our region. And this does not even include garbage that could have been disposed of from ships but was considered to originate from land-based sources (e.g. glass, metal, paper)!

According to Gaëtan Coatanroch, an IMO Consultant based at RAC/REMPEITC, the adoption of the IMO resolution shows “a strong commitment by the Parties to sustainably develop the region and decrease maritime pollution.” He also added that this is a very timely move, as maritime traffic is expected to continue to dramatically increase in the Caribbean region with the expansion of the Panama Canal. Currently, it is estimated that approximately 40 per cent of the world’s commerce passes within a day and a half sailing time of Key West, Florida.

A concern linked to this entry into force is the availability of information regarding the location of port reception facilities in the region. The Caribbean Countries now have one year to populate IMO’s database, the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS).

Assistance is already planned, and a joint UNEP-IMO regional workshop addressing this matter will be held in Panama in May 2010. Subsequently, the few Parties that do not have yet adequate reception facilities have undertaken to find alternatives arrangements (which includes forming agreements with neighboring countries), and install them as soon as feasible.

Chris Corbin, UNEP CAR/RCU’s Programme Officer for Pollution Prevention, congratulated the Countries for their collaboration on this matter, but also stressed the importance of having the entry into force as soon as possible of the related pollution control agreement for Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution, the LBS Protocol.. This will further assist efforts to tackle the problem of solid waste and marine litter in the region.

Corbin further noted that UNEP, IMO and RAC/REMPEITC will continue to implement activities on marine and land-based sources of pollution, and to assist countries in complying with regional and international agreements’ requirements for the protection of the coastal and marine environment of the Wider Caribbean.

April 15, 2010

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Blog International