Operating a cruise ship
INTRODUCTION
Cruise ship is commonly known to be a posh and relaxing excursion with lots of entertainment. Essentially the environmental magnificence that is usually seeing while in the cruise ship and the immense ocean on which it operates keeps the whole industry alive. Every year since the year 2001, as a result of the tremendous growth of the industry, nine ships are built to cater for the North American consumers. Despite the environmental consequences that are an issue to many, operating a cruise ship is generally luxurious. As the industry continues to expand, the environmental impacts are equally apparent. They are actually the largest polluters of nautical life as they create lots of sewages per year. 77 of all known ship pollution comes from cruise ships (Asian, 2008). The waste streams comprise of bilge water that contain grease, oil and other contaminants, ballast water and solid waste that have adverse effects.
What is cruising and basically operating a cruise ship
A cruise liner or ship is a passenger ship used for the purposes of gratification voyages where the ship amenities as well as the voyage itself are part of the experience. A cruise line is responsible for operating cruise ships. For effective services as far as ship industry is concerned, there must be an effectual management of operation which is neither easy nor cheap. The operating expenses include labor, cost of the fuel, port charges, repairs, insurance costs, technical management, registration expenses and shore management. It is commonsensical that in everything, the best value does not translate to the discounted price. These costs might seem to be high at first glance but in authenticity the overall costs of living at marine is debatable on the grounds of what you get in return and what you end up paying.
Step One- Issue to be addressed
This sustainability assessment is meant to give a more limelight to the ship industry. It is intended to give the benefits of cruising and basically the cruise industry economically, socially and ecologically. We shall analyze the draw backs they face, available alternatives as well as the impact it has on the environment.
Step two- desired outcomes
First we need to postulate what exactly a cruise passenger will be willing to do in a foreign land by describing their personal characteristics in terms of age and power. Cruise ship passengers are generally not poor disheartened individuals who are after taking a vacation to reflect on their daily lives and way forward. Most of these people are older people who are about or over the age of 45. Majority of them are actually retirees and it is common knowledge that when people retire they really enjoy traveling oriented issues. This will always require people who have quite a lot of money.
The cruise ship industry has quite a lot of benefit to the economy and other oriented aspects. It is among the vast growing sectors as far as tourism sector is concerned. In1980 to 1994, the global growth of tourism sector was 4.5 while that of the cruise industry rated at 8.6. As the numbers of cruise visits get to raise so do the number of the passengers in those ships who contribute a great deal of revenue to the growth of the economy of the country. The other perceptible benefit from the cruise industry to the U.S is based on taxation (Elliot, et al 2005).
The cosmic contributions from the public visits are based on direct taxation as a result of the high rate of spending from the passengers and the troop while in the port. Every passenger purchasing either a good or service is supposed to pay government and provincial tax. In the year 1996, studies show that the tourism industry alone generated 3.6 trillion dollars internationally in gross output. This resulted to around 304 billion dollars in the government operating disbursement (Elliot, et al, 2005). It is logic that in the previous years from then the number has continued obviously to rise with the world populace and wealth. An escalation of tax flow from cruise industry augments the number of public savings leading to an increase in the number of total savings.
In a place like Alaska, the cruise industry generates approximately 1.35 billion annually. Passengers spend around 914 million and 465 as far as wages are concerned. Cruising contributes over 2million annually to non profit organizations and 100 million in revenues to local and state governments (Alaska ACT, n.d). Cruise ships bring passengers who just do not stop at the ports but they as well stay in hotels of which they pay for, they travel to parks, rent vehicles, Dine in restaurants as well as buy souvenirs. Thousands of businesses benefit directly from the cruise ship industry. There are other social benefits linked to the industry.
Though there are some down beating environmental effects there are also some positive ones. Alaska for example has the sternest safety and environmental regulations in the industry. These regulations are imposed by federal and state agencies including U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Alaska Department of Environmental conservation (ADEC) and U.S Coast Guard. Cruise companies invest millions of dollars in order to perk up and adhere to the stipulated regulations. They invest in technologies to make sure that the ship has clean emissions, runs on clean fuels and discharges clean waste water. Companies have gone ahead to adopt aggressive recycling programs to make sure solid waste is minimized. They are also concerned about the welfare of the visitors thus cruise lines operating in North America have the unsurpassed safety record. They have highly trained personnel and emergency medical workers (Alaska ACT, n.d).
Though the cruise industry and generally the operating system has tried to maintain its main desired outcome as far as social and economic aspects are concerned, it has partially contributed positively to the environmental facet and done a great deal of water and air pollution. They release volumes of grey water wastes that comprise of sewage wastewater that comes from the showers, sinks, and galleys.
Other wastes emitted are hazardous or solid wastes that produce oily bilge waste and ballast water (Asian 2008). They go a long way to endanger marine life like fish which finally reaches human causing ailments and death due to related diseases. Other environmental draw backs that are associated with cruise industry are robbery in ports, sexual assault and case of people disappearing mysteriously. Some people bicker that the industry is a big threat to the marine and aquatic lives in which many citizens depends on.
Decision making protocol
Considering the many benefits that there are from the cruise industry, basing it mostly on the economic and social factors, it may as well appear like that is the only way to have lots of fun and great company. It may also seem like time spent at sea would have less or no impact on its surrounding environs, but that is not the case. They have great ecological impact and one that is rarely thought or debated about as far as the global warming discussion is concerned. They produce 17 of the total emissions of nitrogen dioxide in port cities. A one week voyage accumulates approximately 50 tones of garbage, 210,000 gallons containing sewage and 35, 000 gallons of water polluted by oil. Ships also destroy the coral reefs (Asian, 2008)
Most cruise companies have claimed to have the best environmental standards. Actually they have come up with a cruise ship meant to reduce emissions from engines by the use of sea water in order to remove harmful components. But what about the pathetic sorry tale of environmental fines that is being racked up by the cruise companies There are also other sad stories of sexual molestation, robbery and the negative cultural impact of the vast numbers of tourists coming to the country.
If you were heartened by visiting many places on one trip, then there are other effective alternatives for this. If at all you really envied the idea of relaxing and spending time on must board a boat, there are quite a lot of options of spending time on boats and sailing over using the often sterile incarceration of a cruise liner. You might also want to think about the long hours used by cruise to reach their destined destinations. They usually glide from one port to the other and unlike flights that are big village in which you can have a glimpse of, cruises are small village of restaurants, amenities and swimming pool in one place.
Alternatives pros and cons
With thousands vacation options offered around the world it may prove difficult to narrow down on one. Some people generally love a cruise while others can not stand the sight of water. Using a flight over cruise ship considering they are both costly is more logical but it depends on what you really want to achieve. A cruiser line such as Queen Mary 2 emanates 0.43kg of carbon dioxide per passenger mile as compared to haul flight that emits 0.257kg (Iris, n.d). The flight is also fast compared to cruising.
You can use boats such as Egyptian felucca or keralan houseboat which is far fascinating option to work with compared to the cruise ship (Iris, n.d). Smaller boats have distinct advantages as compared to their large counterparts. They are affordable if one was to decide to buy one and they are cheaper as far as passengers are concerned. Their insurance rate is equally low and they are less conspicuous thus the possibility of them being pirated is very low. The main disadvantage of boats is that as they get into shallow water the propulsion brings up the mud and items floating can easily be entangled in the jets and they actually require specific oil.
The other option is use of vehicles. Vehicles are fast and one is not limited to the places within the borders, but the difference is, with vehicles you can not travel to as many places as you want but only in the confines of the country. Ships unlike vehicles have lesser accidents cases (Brian, 2008).
Preferred alternative
Air travel is the fastest means of traveling. You can get from one point to the other in the least time possible than all other modes of transport. A ship on the other hand can take months and months to reach the destination. The other reason I would prefer airplanes over the ship is because they are usually much comfy to ride in when you are going to far places. Though turbulence will be experienced when using this mode of transport it is nothing compared to way the ship rolls in rough seas. Temperatures are usually kept at optimum and entertainment is offered. Planes are more convenient to travel when one is in a rush. Despite the high price which obviously is determined by your destination and the class of your seat, use of flight is much better.
Mitigation and Management
Environmental advocates have always raised concerns concerning the adequacy of the existing laws that are meant to manage the wastes and they have contented that the management is actually weak. There should be need for full account of the indirect and direct costs as well as benefits accumulated from the industry. People who are planning to travel via ship as well as maritime should have a thorough knowledge on the industry and the government should come up with effective ways to curb the social and environmental drawbacks.
Conclusion and recommendation
To have effective way forward as we embark on the best options to take as far as traveling is concerned, investing in networks for cruise ships over other alternatives infrastructure that might have a great economic and social impact should be weighed. Constructive and concrete strategies must be undertaken to improve both ecological and economic status without having to threaten the life of the marine and local environment. The cruise industry earns billions of dollars annually but the irony is that the ports always try to recoup their costs and sometimes do not even realize any reasonable gain (Ross, 2009). It is imperative that the government is held to account in its offering of support to the industry as well as ensure that the industry is outweighing the cost to communities and local ports as well as providing maximum security to curb incidences that endanger lives.
The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force should make effective and attainable recommendations for our great lakes and oceans since the incongruent nature of U.S regulations and governance has resulted to a dearth of rules surrounding this industry. Precedence should be given to the enforcement of the existing rules and swift implementation of the regulations that can be effectual. Member states can be a great driving force for change that can be believed in towards an ample international regulation framework for the shipping sector.
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