18 



And as we said earlier, we are big supporters of the Coast Guard 

 and anxious to know what happened this time and how we might 

 make sure the law is properly enforced in the future. Admiral 

 Henn. 



STATEMENT OF ADMIRAL ARTHUR "GENE" HENN, CHIEF, OFFICE 

 OF MARINE SAFETY, SECURITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRO- 

 TECTION, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD; ACCOMPANIED BY 

 LIEUTENANT BURTON 



STATEMENT OF GENE HENN 



Admiral Henn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Indeed it is a pleas- 

 ure to be here today. I want to summarize my statement. I would 

 like to put forward a few facts, and then I would like to, at your 

 beckoning, get into the Q's and A's after the other panelists, be- 

 cause I think we need to talk about this particular incident, Al's 

 good work as a citizen, and some of the things that we are doing to 

 ensure that MARPOL Annex V is enforced. 



You know, we, the Coast Guard, enforce a number of pollution 

 laws and treaties that affect the cruise ship industry. Foremost 

 among them are the Clean Water Act and the International Con- 

 vention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, better known to 

 us as MARPOL. All segments of the shipping industry are subject 

 to the enforcement of these laws. The cruise ship industry is one of 

 the many users of the nation's waterways and, hence, is subject to 

 all the scrutiny and enforcement as are the other segments, be 

 they tankers or cargo ships. 



Mr. Chairman, if I might direct your attention to a chart entitled 

 "The Cruise Ship Pollution Discharge Violations" — you can see 

 that over the past four years the Coast Guard has initiated 102 pol- 

 lution violation cases against passenger ships, of which 62 viola- 

 tions were oil spills and 40 were MARPOL V violations for garbage 

 discharges. The chart that Lieutenant Burton is now displaying 

 shows the disposition of cases against cruise ships for the last four 

 years. 



As we have heard, the largest fine to date against a cruise ship 

 involves the vessel Regal Princess for $500,000. However, at 

 present, there are several additional cases being taken against 

 cruise ships for the discharge of plastics. These are within the De- 

 partment of Justice. The Coast Guard has also conducted specific 

 enforcement operations in cooperation with the EPA, FBI, and 

 state and local agencies. 



The Coast Guard's compliance and enforcement program is an 

 interagency effort. For example, we work closely with the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Serv- 

 ice as they have played a significant role in helping us enforce the 

 garbage discharge regulations. Perhaps our most valuable allies in 

 the enforcement of pollution laws are the citizens such as Al, citi- 

 zen action groups, and those who assist us such as the Center for 

 Marine Conservation. 



Significant cases against vessels have come from private citizens, 

 as we have heard today. In one case, out on the West Coast, a 

 report from a crew member has led to a $150,000 fine against a 

 fishing vessel for the discharge of plastics. To further encourage 



