Currents Summer 2024 (1) - Flipbook - Page 11
The requirements and goals set by the Polar Code regulate the pollution of oil, noxious liquid
substances, sewage, and garbage aboard vessels cruising through the Antarctic region.
As written, these regulations are a far-cry from outright prevention of pollution in Antarctic
waters. To dump raw sewage or ground food waste in the Antarctic, ships need only to travel
12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from the nearest coastline or sea ice which is attached to
the coastline. When the sewage has been treated, ships can be as close as three nautical
miles (5.5 kilometers) from the nearest shore.
Virtually no broad-scale efforts are in place to enforce these regulations in the region,
leaving little incentive for tour companies to follow them in the first place.
A lucrative industry, greenwashed
At its annual meeting in May 2023, the IAATO granted Princess Cruise Lines 8Operator9 status,
enabling the company to organize their own tour programs in Antarctica without the direct
involvement of the IAATO or other Operator members. Among the vessels set to travel to
Antarctica is the Coral Princess, a name familiar to the media for its years spent in legal
battles over the company9s deliberate and damaging environmental practices in other
places they cruise.
Despite Princess Cruises9 guilty plea in 2022 to a second violation of its mandated probation
after 2017 felony charges in U.S. federal court, the IAATO has deemed the company9s
operations up to industry standards. Princess Cruises previously held 8Provisional Operator9
status, meaning it had to host an IAATO observer on board to witness operations in the field.
The promotion of Princess Cruises to what amounts to an independent tour operator in
Antarctica follows years of negative press they have received alongside their parent
company, Carnival Corporation, during ongoing court proceedings between 2017 and 2022.
A 2016 U.S. investigation into Carnival Corporation found instances of illegal practices aboard
four vessels, including the Coral Princess. The next year, the Princess Cruises pleaded guilty to
charges of felony regarding their deliberate dumping of oily waste into the Caribbean and
subsequent acts to cover it up. At that time, they were fined $40 million USD, the largest ever
criminal fine in the U.S. for intentional pollution from ships.
Princess Cruises was fined an additional $20 million USD in 2019 when it was found to be
violating the terms of its court-mandated probation. When the company violated its
probation again in 2022, it was ordered to pay $1 million USD in criminal fines.
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