Millions of people all over the world depend on the ocean for their survival. The commercial fisherman trying to make a living, one man trying to find food to feed his family, or whole countries that depend on the oceans to export and import their goods, all depend on the oceans. The oceans are the highways to life and need to be protected. They need to be protected from the pollution brought on by vessels; barges, ocean liners, cruise ships. Although there are many laws and regulations set by the international community, nationally and locally against the dumping of non-processed gray water, bilge, black water and ballast water, vessels continue to illegally dump their pollutants into the oceans and must be stopped because it is damaging to marine life, is harmful to corals and the organisms that live within them, and is harmful to swimmers and divers and those who depend on the oceans for their survival.
Argawal, H. et al. “In-use gaseous and particulate matter emissions from a modern ocean going container vessel, Atmospheric Environment 42 (2008) 5504–5510 >http//www.sciencedirect.com
This article gives a good overview of the effects from emissions from ocean container vessels. It is pretty detailed in the information-a little technological, but the studies they did help support the thesis.
Barnes, James- > http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7317421.stm
This article is by James Barnes is an international environmental lawyer who has spent 35 years working on environmental treaties. He is currently executive director of ASOC. The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website . I found it informative and interesting. He is talking about Antarctica and how it is becoming more and more polluted due to the increase in ship traffic. At the end there were blogs by people all around the globe-who all had their own opinions about the situation.
Crye, J. Michael “At Issue: Is a new federal law needed to stop cruise ships from polluting?” CQ Researcher, 11/4/2005, Vol. 15 Issue 39, p949-949, 1/2p; (AN 18890155)
I chose this article because it focuses on the other side-this focuses on perhaps the industry is doing enough and there is not enough proof that the pollution generated by the ships is really damaging.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
“Cruise Ship Pollution: Background, Laws and Regulations, and Key Issues”
This is a very informative document, summarizes what the laws and regulations and key issues facing the industry are. “This report describes the several types of waste streams that cruise ships may discharge and emit. It identifies the complex body of international and domestic laws that address pollution from cruise ships. It then describes federal and state legislative activity concerning cruise ships in Alaskan waters and recent activities in a few other states, as well as current industry initiatives. Issues for Congress are discussed.”
>http://www.epa.gov/owow/regulatory/vesseldisch.html
This sight gives a brief synopsis of what the EPA is doing to develop a water permit program for pollutant discharges. It talks about the permits that will be required as of September 30, 2008. It also has other sights to get information from that discuss ballast water, gray water, and no discharge zones.
Machine Design, 6/19/2008, Vol. 80 Issue 12, p22-22, 1/2p, 1 diagram; (AN 32815287)
This was a little technical but offers solutions and possibilities for the vessels to be able to be at sea and still cleanly get rid of their oily waste and pollutants. I liked it because is shows that something can be done.
>http://www.oceana.org/uploads/Chapter_8.pdf
This article talks about the millions of people who take cruises to enjoy the natural beauty of the oceans and the coast. It then talks about the pollution generated by these ships. This is a little more geared to the coast of Florida-which gets the most cruise ships in the us and the impact they are having on the marine life and environment.
Oil Spill Intelligence Report, Preview, 8/28/2008, Vol. 31 Issue 36, p4-4, 1/2p; (AN 34160990). “Company Sentenced for Illegal Dumping.” - >http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/July/08-enrd-594.html.
This was a good report on the illegal charging by a large shipping company. “Shipping company B.Navi Ship Management Services (B. Navi) has been sentenced to pay US $1.5 million, and to serve three years of probation, in connection with the illegal dumping of oily sludge, bilge wastes, and oil-contaminated ballast
water. In February 2008, the company pled guilty to two counts charging it with violating the US Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and making materially
false statements to the US Coast Guard (USCG) (see OSIR, 28 February 2008).”
Oil Spill Intelligence Report, Preview, 7/31/2008, Vol.31 Issue 32, p4-4, 2/3p; (AN33517052),”Two Plead Guilty to Falsifying Records.”
I chose this article because it talks about the falsifying of records by a ship company. It is another example of companies not abiding by the laws and regulations set by the international and national boards.
Oil Spill Intelligence Report, Preview, 8/2/2007, Vol. 30 Issue 32, p3-4, 2p; (AN 26074474), “Firm Nabbed for Oil Record Book Violations” - >http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/May/07_enrd_371.html.
This report talks about another firm who has violated maritime laws. It is a good example of how some in the industry try to get by the laws. It also shows that it is very easy for a ship to abide by the laws and use the proper equipment.
Peng, H.; Tremblay, A.Y. Desalination, Sep2008, Vol. 229 Issue 1-3, p318-330, 13p; DOI: 10.1016/j.desal.2007.10.018; (AN 33135944) “The selective removal of oil from wastewaters while minimizing concentrate production using a membrane cascade.”
Another technical document, but interesting as to a fix to the problems. It isn’t just with the ocean vessels, but also inland and what industries can do to increase the good that goes into the land and water vs. the pollutants.
Pollution Engineering, Jul2008, Vol. 40 Issue 7, p38-41, 3p; (AN 33251395) JULY2OO8 - > http://www.pollutionengineering.com
This article centers on the New ballast tank discharge legislation passes the House of Representatives as part of the Coast Guard bill. The article talks about the moves by the US Government to pass laws and regulations to help end the discharges of ballast. “The legislation, part of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008(H.R. 2830), requires installation of technology meeting current International Maritime Organization ballast discharge standards by as early as 2009. Ships would then he required to begin installing treatment equipment in 2012 to meet a more rigorous standard that is 100 times more stringent than the international standard. "These standards and timeline are both aggressive and achievable…”
Schmidt, Kira, Report prepared by, Bluewater Network, March 2000/
> http://www.bluewaternetwork.org/reports/re-_ss_cruise_trouble.pdf
This was a great article as far as explaining what all of the different discharges that ocean vessels create. It helped me understand just what pollutants they all have and what harm they can do to the environment. Of course it is a little slanted because it was written for the bluewaternetwork-an environmental organization, but it had good information nonetheless.
Spracklin, Beth, “Environmentally friendly cruise ships an oxymoron? >http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/journalism/outlook/cruise.html
I found this article informative and full of information about the cruise ship industry that accounts for a large part of the pollutants being dumped into the oceans. It talks about the incinerators and technology that cruise ships are supposed to have on board. There is even a diagram from Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s of their system. It was informative and not really biased-which surprised me.
Thurston, Harry, Canadian Geographic, 07062168, Sep/Oct2005, Vol. 125, Issue 5 Database: Academic Research Premier. “SEABIRDS IN THE WAKE”
This is a good report about the effects of the oily waste dumped by ships and the effects they are having on the seabirds of Newfoundland and the inadequate response by the Canadian government to handle the situation.
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