April is the month that marks the start of the Alaska the cruise ships’ season. Juneau will host thousands of ships over the months ahead. In a recent interactive article for Hakai magazine titled ‘Cruise Ship Invasion’, investigative freelance reporter Andrew Engelson looked at the effects of the cruise industry on the environment as well as the quality of living within Southeast Alaska.
Engelson interviewed the KTOO’s Anna Canny about his findings.
The content of this interview is edited to improve clarity and length.
Anna Canny Your home is in Seattle. It’s the central point from where many of the Alaskan cruise ships sail. It’s likely that you’re familiar with the presence of this industry however, as a journalist why did you decide to dive deep into the effects they have on the environment?
Andrew Engelson: It’s hard to not help but notice the ships here. And I’m aware that there were lots of impactsand I’ve read reports on it. You are aware of the carbon impact as well as the emissions. And , then floating hotels with up to 4,000 guests on the. They’re doing things like brushing their teeth and taking showers. So there’ll be treated wastewater, gray water and all the garbage that’s produced, and, you know the thousands of tourists increasing the the population of towns as ships arrive. But I wanted to go into the deeper. So I contacted the publication that put it out, Hakai, about how we might approach the issue.
Anna Canny: As you stated, there’s been number of reports on this topic over the years However, the thing that’s distinct about your story, I’m sure is the way you’ve structured the piece. We follow this fictional vessel that you refer to as the Oceanic Topaz and we follow its various stops along its journey through Alaska. I’m curious to know what brought you to take this route?
Andrew Engelson: Yes I’m talking about the data I found in this were massive. The problem was that placing it in a conventional article would make it difficult to take a look at all of the impact. However, if you focus on one particular ship observe the impact of one vessel on its seven-day journey I would say it was quite impressive.
Anna Canny: I’d like to point out a few of the figures you include in your reports 2800 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions. Also there’s the fact that hot tubs are used to imagine the waste and I thought it was beneficial 400 hot tubs of sewage , and three hot tubs filled with gray water. Of course, there’s the trash. It was, I think, eight tons of garbage. That’s a lot of trash. That’s just for one ship. Then you begin to see that here in Juneau where we’re seeing five ships every day.
Andrew Engelson: It’s incredible to think the fact that there are close to 300 of them traveling that route. It’s like 300 sailings, 13 ships It’s an enormous amount.
Anna Canny: Here in Juneau one thing that has really surprised me was the most of our marine emissions I believe that upwards of 80 percent, are related to diesel fuel burned by cruise vessels. However, I’m curious if you could explain that piece to help me.
Andrew Engelson: Yes It was quite a surprise as I believe that many of us are constantly thinking about the effects of climate change on what we do, for instance, if we’re driving our cars during a trip or even travel by plane or a flight, and the role cruises play in this too. Cruises seem to be very high in this regard. It was quite surprising to learn that a single seven-day cruise released 2800 tons of carbon dioxide. This is the equivalent of driving around 600 vehicles in a single year.
Anna Canny: These diesel fuels are extremely emitting a lot of emissions, but they’re also very heavy on other kinds of pollution that I was not acquainted with. The cause is the effect of discharge from scrubbers.
Andrew Engelson: A large portion of these ships, over the many years, were using what’s known as high sulfur fuel. And it releases particles. It’s a serious source of pollution. So experts from the International Maritime Organization recommended that ships switch to a low sulfur fuel or install what’s known as scrubber, which sprays water over the exhaust, basically the process is to inject the pollutants in the water instead of being released into the air. The issue that it then takes the pollutants and discharges them into the ocean. The discharge is extremely acidic and contributes to ocean acidification. It contains, well metals and other contaminants in it. The problem is that it’s not regulated since it’s relatively new. It’s true that most people are aware of, you know, sewage and how it needs to be cleaned. However, it is disposed of in Washington State, British Columbia and Alaska.
Anna Canny: It’s clear from a variety of sources you talk to that there is a lot of concern similar to Alaskans are worried and seeing the effects. However, there’s a cost for a number people in these areas, don’t you think? There’s a lot of talk about the benefits to the economy that cruise ships bring.
Andrew Engelson: It’s an issue that’s complicated. You know, Seattle actually definitely benefits there’s no doubt about it. Also, the economic benefits for places such as Juneau or Ketchikan are significant. Maybe the economic benefits are you know, worthwhile. However, when you take all of these effects and how they impact on quality of life there’s no doubt. It was quite shocking to me to learn that there was a survey of Juneau residents which said that most of them thought saying, yes, we need to limit to a certain number of ships that cruise.
Anna Canny: Well, I’m sure that it will be fascinating for our listeners since the first cruise ships we’ve seen were in the water just a couple of weeks ago. I’ve got a lot to consider as I watched them begin to enter. Thanks for having a chat with Andrew. Andrew.
Andrew Engelson Andrew Engelson: I truly enjoy it.
