Seven Cruise Lines Violate Air Standards

The Alaskan Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has penalized seven major cruise lines for emissions violations since 2010. The violations were revealed in Norwegian Cruise Line’s quarterly Security and Exchange Commission filing. 

Carnival, Princess, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises are the other six cruise lines being penalized. The DEC has issued 18 violations involving 48 instances of excessive emissions since 2010.  

The cruise lines violated the Alaska Marine Vessel Visible Emission Standards, which concern the opacity of visible emissions from ships within three miles of shore. 

Details of the violations have not yet been made public because the penalties are still being negotiated. According to DEC officials, the penalty is usually about $37,000 per incident. 

In 2000, Royal Caribbean paid for a five-year $250,000 cruise ship opacity monitoring program to settle past opacity violations.