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In celebration of Earth Day, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) highlighted the ongoing efforts of its member lines to protect the ocean environment.
According to a release, CLIA and its members lines have a vested interest in protecting the environment, not only because it is the responsible thing to do but also because clean oceans and beaches are essential to the cruise experience. The international environmental standards that apply to the cruise line industry are stringent and comprehensive and are established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations agency, as well as national laws of port States where cruise ships visit. The cruise industry, however, employs practices and procedures that are substantially more protective of the environment than are required by regulation and CLIA member lines must meet and often exceed all applicable environmental regulations on a ship's voyage.
CLIA members have been at the forefront of wastewater treatment, emissions reduction and the development of technologies to further reduce the environmental impact of cruising, the Organization said.
"I am extremely proud of the extensive investments and ongoing commitment of our member lines to safeguard the environment for future generations through responsible practices and continuous innovation," said Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA. "The cruise industry has invested extensively to develop and implement wide range of new technologies that protect air and water quality and increase energy efficiency."
Energy efficiency is a major focus of the cruise industry, which has adopted practices such as using recycled hot water to heat passenger cabins, using special window tinting to keep passageways cooler while using less air conditioning, and switching to low energy LED lights which last 25 times longer, use 80 percent less energy, and generate 50 percent less heat.
Working with the IMO, the United States and other flag and port States, CLIA has participated in the development of consistent and uniform international standards governing waste management that apply to all member ships that travel internationally. CLIA members have also adopted the Cruise Industry Waste Management Practices and Procedures, which are even more protective than the existing regulatory requirements.
Many CLIA member lines offer programs to raise passenger awareness and to encourage them to conserve energy and contribute to the industry's environmental stewardship efforts by recycling paper, plastic, aluminum cans and glass through the use of dedicated bins throughout the ship. Passengers are also encouraged to preserve energy like they would do at home, such as turning off lights when not in their cabins.
Additional initiatives and practices in place at CLIA member lines include:
-Several lines are in various stages of utilizing advanced wastewater treatment systems which can produce water cleaner than most wastewater treatment facilities in U.S. cities.
-One member line has installed solar panels on five ships, and on one ship over 200 solar panels have been installed, which generate enough power to operate approximately 7,000 LED lights.
-A number of member lines use fabric bags including laundry, dry cleaning, and shoe shine bags in lieu of plastic bags, thereby reducing plastic from the waste stream.
-Many lines are using ecological, non-toxic, slick hull coatings that save as much as 5 percent of fuel usage for propulsion.
-Condensation from shipboard air conditioning units is reclaimed and then re-used to wash the decks on a CLIA member line's ships, saving up to 22.3 million gallons of fresh water in 2012 alone.
-One CLIA member line saves paper by using an E-Tickets program which delivers cruise documents to guests electronically instead of on paper. The passengers cruise documents are delivered as a PDF file through email.
-Various ships are installing high-efficiency appliances onboard their ships in order to minimize their impact on the environment. Every type of appliance onboard the ships is evaluated for efficiency, including TV's, coffee makers, ovens and dishwashers.
-One CLIA member line is self-generating 87 percent of the water used on board its ships, compared with 65 percent in 2008.
-One CLIA member line introduced a system for fresh water production that consumes 40 percent less power than traditional systems.
-Current shipboard recycling programs onboard one line's ships eliminates more than 900 tons of metal, glass, plastic and paper, approximately 45 percent of all solid waste generated, from traditional waste streams each year.
-Through its waste management programs, one line has increased its waste recycled and reused by over 75 percent while reducing the amount of waste going to landfill by over 50 percent in the past five years.
More information:
www.cruiseforward.org
www.cruising.org
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