<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/01/cruise-ships-urged-to-clean-up-their-act-amid-concerns-toxic-effluent-being-dumped-on-great-barrier-reef>
"Environmentalists and tourism operators on the Great Barrier Reef say
authorities must enforce stricter pollution standards on cruise liners visiting
the world heritage area amid growth in passenger cruise numbers and concern
that ships are dumping toxins into the water.
The Whitsunday Conservation Council says the definition of “waste” used to
prevent marine discharge on the reef – which dates back to the 1970s – does not
restrict discharge from sulphur “scrubbers” that have become commonplace in the
shipping industry.
The systems are designed to lower sulphur emissions in the atmosphere.
Scrubbers dump the chemicals removed from the exhaust directly into the sea.
“In our area alone, cruise ship visits have significantly increased yet little
… is known about the damage the pollution is doing to our inshore reefs,” says
Trevor Rees, a bareboat operator from the Whitsunday region who sits on the
local marine advisory committee.
“We also have no idea what impact these discharges are having on our water
quality and wildlife, but we do know it can’t be good, based on other studies
from around the world.”
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says scrubbers have “minimal
effect on the marine environments” and that the discharge is quickly diluted to
undetectable levels, but acknowledges that “assessments of this hazard have not
been specific to the context of the reef and sensitive habitats”.
A 2021 study of the impact of scrubber washwater on pelagic copepods found
scrubber effluent “more toxic than crude oil” and suggested that the systems
could “act as witch’s cauldrons where undesired toxic compounds form”.
Concerns have also been raised about the sheer volume of washwater potentially
being dumped in sensitive marine environments.
Tony Fontes, a Whitsundays dive operator and president of the Whitsunday
Conservation Council, says concerns about cruise ship pollution have
“effectively fallen on deaf ears”. He said the group was “surprised and
disappointed” by the attitude of the marine park authority “given their number
one priority is to protect the health and biodiversity of the reef”.
In addition to concerns about scrubbers, conservationists also say vessels with
“grade A” sewage systems are not restricted from discharging grey water near
sensitive reef environments.
They are calling for modern regulations that would require ships to retain grey
water and scrubber effluent in holding tanks while inside the marine park, and
a requirement for ships to use carbon offsets to account for their emissions.
“Look, no one is suggesting we ban the cruise ship industry, we just want them
to clean up their act,” Fontes said.“And, believe it or not, this can be done
fairly easily.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
