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* All new crew members receive training on fire and safety as well as 

 environmental issues, especially on the proper disposal of trash and garbage. 



* Onboard ships regular meetings are held relating to environmental and safety 

 issues. A committee consisting of officers and regular crew from all departments 

 onboard meets regularly to review methods of improving performance, including 

 better and more effective environmental practices. 



* Colorful posters are placed in crew and passenger areas reminding all not to 

 pollute the ocean. 



* At the beginning of every cruise, the Captain reminds everyone onboard 

 (including crew and passengers) over the public address system not to throw 

 anything overboard in port or at sea. 



* On every voyage, issues of the cruise newsletter highlights to the passengers 

 our concern about the environment and requests their cooperation. 



* The Captain requests at his passenger receptions, which are held on every ship, 

 the same message and stresses the need to preserve the oceans from manmade 

 wastes. 



* Every crew member that deals with passengers is prepared to answer their 

 questions and provide information on the ships' environmental policies. 



A cruise ship has two options: One - process the garbage every day using approved methods, 

 or, Two - make space available to hold the material until a port can be found which will off load 

 the garbage. The first option involves a proper mix of safe onboard incineration, discharge at 

 sea, and landing garbage which is suitable for landfills and recycling. The second option 

 requires the capabilities of the ports called on during the voyage to process the garbage. But 

 conflicts arise. The Caribbean, for example, is one of the most popular cruising areas in the 

 world. Some island nations receiving cruise ships struggle with over taxed landfills. Many of 

 the ports in the United States are also not in a position to process this large quantity of refuse. 

 Therefore, part of the solution is the design of ships to properly process the quantities of garbage 

 generated while reducing to a minimum the volume that must be disposed of in ports. It should 

 be noted, however, that in the short four and one half years that Annex V has been in force (it 

 was in force internationally on January 1, 1989) great progress has been made regarding the 

 adequacy of port reception facilities for ship generated garbage, although much remains to be 

 done in certain geographical areas where already overburdened or improperly managed local 

 facilities cannot sufficiently handle ship generated waste. 



Ships are built with waste management equipment to grind food wastes, incinerate paper and 

 plastics, shred incombustible trash for disposal at sea, and compact glass, metal, and cardboard 

 for recycling. The ideal process eliminates as much as possible the need to discharge materials 

 into the sea. An example of a modern waste treatment process now on the market is shown at 

 Appendix "C". 



Waste management programs are a fact of life on modern cruise ships. Most programs have 

 five basic elements: collecting, sorting, processing, storing, and disposing. Not only must these 

 elements be handled in an economical manner, but with consideration for available storage space 

 -- which is very limited -- and strict sanitation requirements. When all of these elements have 

 been factored in, there remains one additional critical consideration: the waste management 

 system will vary from ship-to-ship and seldom, if ever, be the same procedure. This results 

 from the fact that (a) the type and size of the ship will vary (some are new, some old, some 

 carry many passengers, some few); (b) the ships operating area will be different (some far from 

 land, some closer); (c) the onboard equipment for garbage processing may be different (some 

 ships with state-of-the-art incinerators, some with little new equipment); (d) the duration of the 

 voyage will change (some are short with little waste generation, some are long with a great 

 deal); (e) storage space onboard varies, and perhaps most importantly (f) the availability of 

 reception facilities (many ports provide none at all). 



Much has been done by the cruise industry throughout the world to improve its performance 

 relative to the protection of the marine environment. Environmental protection is, as we all 

 know and are becoming increasingly aware on an almost daily basis, an international concern 

 requiring a cooperative effort by many nations. The efforts of the International Maritime 



