Do cruise ships dump raw sewage into the ocean?

[Cruzaholic41]

The largest fleet of ships in the world is the US Navy.

Many of those ships do not treat sewage or garbage, dumping it straight into the seas. They claim that in the interests of "National Defense", they can get away with this.

You be the judge.

 

This post was wrong back in 2012, and it's still wrong today. You obviously know nothing about how the USN does business.

[luddite]

- do fish and other sea creatures dump raw untreated sewage into the ocean.

 

I would be willing to bet that there is a whole lot more animal raw sewage than potential ship raw sewage. I am reasonably certain that large fish and mammal sewage dump a whole lot of poop per animal.

 

 

 

DON

 

I usta drink a lot of water. A friend told me that fish had sex in the water and that wasn't the nastiest thing they did in the water.

 

I started drinking beer instead and haven't looked back.

[Capt_BJ]

http://www.marpoltraining.com/MMSKOREAN/MARPOL/Annex_IV/r11.htm

 

Annex IV- Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships

Chapter 3 - Equipment and control of discharge

 

Regulation 11 - Discharge of sewage

 

..... the discharge of sewage into the sea is prohibited, except when:

 

.1 the ship is discharging comminuted and disinfected sewage using a system approved by the Administration in accordance with regulation 9.1.2 of this Annex at a distance of more than 3 nautical miles from the nearest land, or sewage which is not comminuted or disinfected at a distance of more than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land, provided that, in any case, the sewage that has been stored in holding tanks shall not be discharged instantaneously but at a moderate rate when the ship is en route and proceeding at not less than 4 knots; the rate of discharge shall be approved by the Administration based upon standards developed by the Organization; or

Edited August 21, 2015 by Capt_BJ

[Flatbush Flyer]

There exists a developing technology (in use in several Asian and other locations and still being tested by universities in partnership with international waste management corps and with partial funding from the US Army) that can incinerate all sorts of waste and garbage to produce energy without harmful by products such as methane gas. It uses rotary kiln technology to basically bake waste into negligible remains while providing an alternative fuel source. The ultimate goal, at least for the Army, is self contained waste disposal and energy production in field operations (I.e., no trace that they were there).

Relatively small in size, you can imagine this technology's desirable application in the cruise ship industry. In the best case scenario, ships might run on their own waste produced fuel.

[Extra Kim]

Cruise ships can pump their sewage waste into the treatment plant in Stockholm for FREE but they still choose not to...

[AmazedByCruising]

There exists a developing technology (in use in several Asian and other locations and still being tested by universities in partnership with international waste management corps and with partial funding from the US Army) that can incinerate all sorts of waste and garbage to produce energy without harmful by products such as methane gas.

 

Why would methane gas be a harmful byproduct?

[Flatbush Flyer]

Why would methane gas be a harmful byproduct?

 

 

You're kidding - right?

 

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/methane/lavelle-text

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/leaky-methane-makes-natural-gas-bad-for-global-warming/

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/leaky-methane-makes-natural-gas-bad-for-global-warming/

[GUT2407]

Treated yes. I believe the solids are separated and the water treated.

 

Some food scraps in some locations may be minced and discharged, you will see a real influx of sea life following to feed on it in some spots.

[AmazedByCruising]

You're kidding - right?

 

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/methane/lavelle-text

 

No, because it is a fuel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane

[Flatbush Flyer]

No, because it is a fuel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane

 

 

While methane can be used as a fuel, and in its liquid state -as LNG - is possible to use in shipping applications, there are significant storage, delivery and safety issues, which (it is my understanding) are not as problematic with the syngas produced by rotary kiln gasifiers.

 

Not being a chemical engineer, I cannot explain the finer points of the relationship between LNG and syngas. But I do understand that the negligible byproducts of rotary kiln syn-gasification, consisting primarily of ash, doesn't include methane which is one of the challenged fuel sources syngas promoters hope to replace.

[AmazedByCruising]

While methane can be used as a fuel, and in its liquid state -as LNG - is possible to use in shipping applications, there are significant storage, delivery and safety issues, which (it is my understanding) are not as problematic with the syngas produced by rotary kiln gasifiers.

 

Not being a chemical engineer, I cannot explain the finer points of the relationship between LNG and syngas. But I do understand that the negligible byproducts of rotary kiln syn-gasification, consisting primarily of ash, doesn't include methane which is one of the challenged fuel sources syngas promoters hope to replace.

 

I'm not a chemical engineer either, but Carnival ordered 4 ships using LNG:

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/carnival-corporation-finalizes-contract-with-meyer-werft-to-build-four-next-generation-cruise-ships-2015-06-15

 

They would probably have mentioned it if they also ordered a waste treatment system that would produce LNG as well, but to me it looks like a first step forward, not backward.