Hawai'i liners free of dumping violations
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
While other places such as Florida have had problems with cruise lines illegally dumping waste into their waters, environmental regulators said they do not know of any major violations of cruise liners sailing in Hawai'i.
"We always have our eye on any threat that may be out there," said Erica Ryan, spokeswoman for the U.S. Coast Guard in Hawai'i.
With Norwegian Cruise Line — which has two ships offering interisland cruises in Hawai'i — or others, "There haven't been any major causes for concerns," Ryan said.
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency region that includes Hawai'i said Friday that he did not know of any violations pending in Hawai'i, and said he planned to research the issue.
While Norwegian Cruise Line was involved in one of the more significant Mainland cruise-dumping cases in recent years, the company was not sailing Hawai'i-based cruises between 1997 and 2000 when the incidents occurred in Florida.
Norwegian Cruise Line started running cruises between Hawai'i and Fanning Island last December.
Norwegian Cruise Line also notes that the violations happened before its purchase by Star Cruises Plc and that its remedial actions included terminating or accepting resignations of employees and putting in new environmental compliance programs.
Hawai'i experts also note the increased sensitivity in the Islands about environmental issues related to cruise lines as the industry draws an increasing number of visitors and more operators begin to ply island waters.
Late last month, the North West CruiseShip Association, which represents Norwegian and other passenger cruise liners, signed a memorandum of understanding with Gov. Ben Cayetano outlining environmental practices for cruise lines operating in the state.
The signing marked more than a year of efforts as cruise visitors to the Islands surged by more than 50 percent — to 118,515 — in the first half of the year, carried by more and bigger ships, and approaching in just six months the entire total of cruise passengers who came to Hawai'i last year, according to the state.
"The memorandum of understanding that we have worked out with the cruise industry was in response to some of the bad practices," said Gary Gill, deputy director of the state Environmental Health Administration.
Gill said he is not aware of any pending violations by the cruise industry in Hawai'i.
But others say that cruise lines have committed violations in the past is a reason the state should not stop at a memorandum of understanding to regulate the cruise industry's environmental practices.
"We want to make sure that our coastal environment is adequately protected from this industry that so far has been a very bad actor," said Sierra Club Hawai'i Chapter director Jeff Mikulina.
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470 or kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
