FEATURE | Can the cruise industry be saved? - Baird Maritime

As the Covid-19 pandemic spread around the world last winter, cruise ships served as petri dishes for the new virus. Despite being hailed as a “great and important industry” by President Trump, cruise lines’ role in the pandemic has led to new calls to address their other detrimental impacts – including their toll on the environment.
Representative Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) is sponsoring a bill, dubbed the Cruise Integrity Act, to reform cruise ship operations. It calls for restrictions on the dumping of trash, untreated waste, and oily bilge water into the oceans. It would also require cruise lines to submit plans to drastically reduce emissions of carbon, methane, and nitrogen oxides and reduce the use of heavy fuels.