49 



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 



U. S. COAST GUARD 



STATEMENT OF REAR ADMIRAL ARTHUR E. HENN 



ON THE PREVENTION OF POLLUTION FROM CRUISE SHIPS 



BEFORE THE 



SUBCOMMITTEE ON COAST GUARD AND NAVIGATION 



COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES 



UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



MAY 11, 1993 



Good morning Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the 

 subcommittee. I am Rear Admiral Gene Henn, Chief of the Office 

 of Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection. Thank 

 you for this opportunity to discuss the issue of pollution from 

 cruise ships and Coast Guard enforcement of associated pollution 

 laws and treaties. 



ENFORCEMENT 



The Coast Guard is responsible for enforcing a number of 

 pollution laws and treaties that affect the cruise ship industry. 

 Foremost among them are the Clean Water Act, and the 

 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from 

 Ships 73/78, known as MARPOL. Provisions of section 311 of the 

 Clean Water Act regulate oil and hazardous substances, in part 

 prohibiting the discharge of oil into the navigable waters of the 

 United States and onto adjacent shorelines. Three of the Annexes 

 of MARPOL, as implemented by the Act to Prevent Pollution from 

 Ships, as amended by the Marine Plastics Pollution Research and 

 Control Act of 1987, set out discharge prohibitions for oil and 

 noxious liquids (Annexes I and II), and garbage (Annex V). As so 



