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programs in place to minimize their impact on the marine environment. However, these practices 

 and equipment must be utilized in order to protect the environment. 



One passenger told us that she was extremely impressed by an onboard recycling program, 

 complete with separate containers for various recyclables. Unfortunately, once at sea, she witnessed 

 ship personnel tossing the separated recyclables overboard late at night. A crew member from a 

 different vessel told CMC of a grinder for garbage that had been inoperable for six months, and a 

 paper shredder that was being used to store fluorescent light bulbs. Both pieces of equipment are 

 intended to help prepare certain garbage for legal discharge. 



n. INVOLVING CITIZENS IN REPORTING VIOLATIONS 



A. The Role of Citizens 



It is not possible for the U.S. Coast Guard, with its limited resources, to witness and take 

 enforcement action against all vessels illegally disposing of trash overboard. The enormous area of 

 water that is covered under this law, coupled with the millions of vessels to which it applies, 

 combine to make enforcement of this law extremely difficult. 



CMC feels that the most effective way to police the cruise industry is to directly involve 

 passengers and crew in monitoring the industry's activities. On every cruise vessel there are literally 

 hundreds of individuals who, if educated, could serve as "Citizen Pollution Patrols." 



An example of how effective citizen reporting can be is illustrated by a recent case involving 

 Princess Cruise Line. On October 25, 1991 while on vacation aboard the Regal Princess, two 

 passengers witnessed crew members dumping at least twenty plastic bags filled with garbage into the 

 sea, approximately five nautical miles southeast of the Florida Keys. One witness videotaped the 

 event and upon returning to shore, contacted the Center for Marine Conservation. We instructed him 

 in how and where to report the case and he subsequently turned the evidence over to the U.S. Coast 

 Guard Marine Safety Office (MSO) in Miami. After an article appeared in a St. Louis newspaper 

 mentioning this case, four other witnesses to the same event came forward and contacted the Center. 

 We encouraged them to send a written report of what they had seen to the U.S. Coast Guard and 

 provided them with our "Citizen's Report Form. " 



These witnesses were instrumental in helping the Coast Guard, the U.S. Attorney's Office and 

 other federal law enforcement agencies build a criminal case against Princess Cruise Line. In 

 subsequent action Princesses Cruises, Inc. agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation of the Act to 

 Prevent Pollution from Ships and on April 26, 1993 a federal court sentenced Princess to pay the 

 maximum allowable penalty of $500,000. 



A conviction in this case would never have been possible without the evidence and cooperation 

 provided by passengers. The U.S. Coast Guard has directed its Marine Safety Offices to cooperate 

 fully with citizen reporters and collect any and all information that can help lead to a MARPOL 

 Annex V violation case. 



B. Recommendations for Facilitating Citizen Involvement 



To facilitate citizen reporting CMC feels that a comprehensive education program for 

 passengers and crew members should be initiated - not only to inform them of the law, but also to 

 instruct them in how to correctly document and report violations. To this end, CMC makes the 

 following recommendations: 



1) We encourage the Coast Guard to set up a toll free MARPOL V hotline to provide 

 an effective avenue for citizen reports. We understand that the Coast Guard is currently 

 working to establish such a hotline, specifically for reports of MARPOL violations. We 

 encourage this work and recommend that, once established, the service be widely publicized. 



2) We recommend that written information on MARPOL V regulations and the Coast 

 Guard's toll-free hotline be provided to every cruise passenger who purchases a ticket 

 within the United States. Although all passengers who report plastic dumping incidents 

 believe that the practice is wrong, most do uoj know that it is also illegal. To ensure effective 

 reporting of such events, passengers need to be better informed before they embark upon a 

 cruise. 



3) Every commercial passenger vessel leaving a U.S. port should incorporate 

 information on MARPOL Annex V into the required safety briefing given to passengers 



Center for Marine Conservation, Page 3 



