Cruise Ship Blues: The Underside of the Cruise Ship Industry (34 page)

31    It is worth noting that Alaska’s regulations are tighter than federal limits, at 10 parts per million, on the release of aromatic hydrocarbons.

32    Frantz, “Gaps in Sea Laws Shield Pollution.”

33    See Doug O’Harra, “Whales in Sound Imperiled: Orcas Poisons May Be Driving Unique Family to Extinction,”
Anchorage Daily News
(July 22, 2001), <
www.adn.com
>.

34    For a more detailed discussion of the effects of ocean pollution, see Nowlan and Kwan,
Cruise Control.

35    Charlie Anderson, “Are We Killing Our Whales?”,
Vancouver Province
(June 24, 2001), <
www.vancouverprovince.com
>.

36    See O’Harra, “Whales in Sound Imperiled.”

37    As stated by the judge, because the fine was paid promptly, he suspended half of the $6-million penalty. The original fine of $6.5 million was for dumping toxic chemicals and oil-contaminated water into Alaska’s waters. The case had initially been filed in August 1999; Royal Caribbean Cruise Line paid the fines in January 2000.

38    See Seth Zuckerman, “Come Again, But Leave Your Tour at Home,”
Tidepool Archives
(October 6, 1999), <
www.tidepool.org
>.

39    Nowlan and Kwan,
Cruise Control,
p. 16.

40    Holland America Line retaliated against Juneau’s new head tax with an announcement that it would withdraw much of its support to local charities. Al Parrish (a company vice-president) reportedly said, “If the community doesn’t really want us there, if that’s really truly what they’re telling us, then we need to reassess what we’re doing.” See Yereth Rosen, “Alaska Officials Plan Crackdown on Cruise Ships,”
Reuters
(February 22, 2000).

41    “Lines May Fight Legality of Juneau Passenger Levy,”
Lloyd’s List
(October 8, 1999), p. 5.

42    In 2000 Senator Rick Halford, a conservative Republican from Anchorage, sponsored the first bill in the state Senate to impose a $50-per-person head tax. The legislation was introduced in the state House by liberal Democrat Beth Kerttula from Juneau. The bill passed the Senate, but industry lobbying of committee chairpersons effectively prevented it from being heard by the House. See John McLaughlin, “The
Sun Princess
Has Helped Turn Alaska into a Popular Destination, But Now Faces a Swinging Tax from the State Senate,”
Lloyd’s List
(April 26, 2000), p. 1; and Paul Queary, “Alaskan Senate OKs Cruise Ship Tax,”
Associated Press
(April 21, 2000).

43    “Knowles Introduces Head Tax to Alaska Lawmakers,”
Seatrade Insider News
(February 12, 2002).

44    See Alaska Office of the Governor press release #00252, “Knowles Steps up Pressure on Congress for Action on Cruise Ship Discharges,” (October 6, 2000), <
www.gov.state.ak.us/press/00252.html
>.

45    A number of explanations were explored for finding fecal coliform in graywater — including the possibility that open drains in the galley had been used by some crew members in place of the toilet — but no consensus was reached. Fecal coliform counts in graywater were reported to be higher than 20 million/ml; the allowable limit is 200/ml. See Alaska Governor press release, “Knowles Steps up Pressure.”

46    See Bill McAllister, “A Big Violation on Wastewater: Some Ship Readings 100,000 Times Allowed Amount,”
Juneau Empire
(August 27, 2000), <
www.juneauempire.com
>.

47    See Bill McAllister, “Cruise Initiative Brought about Federal, State Laws,”
Juneau Empire,
November 18, 2001, <
www.juneauempire.com
>.

48    In particular, federal legislation passed in December 2000 provides that “the geometric mean of the samples from discharge during any 30-day period does not exceed 20 fecal coliform/100 ml and not more than

10 percent of the samples exceed 40 fecal coliform/100 ml.” See H.R. 5666, Section 1404 (C.3).

49    See Alaska Cruise Ship Initiative,
Commercial Passenger Vessel Environmental Compliance Program: 2001 Legislative Summary,
<
www.state.ak.us/dec/press/cruise/legsummary2001.htm
>.

50    See Yereth Rosen, “Alaskans See Drawbacks to Booming Cruise Business,”
Reuters,
(June 29, 2001).

51    Bill McAllister, “Celebrity Illegally Dumping in Port,”
Juneau Empire
(June 5, 2001), <
www.juneauempire.com
>.

52    Kathy Dye, “Ship Pumps Laundry Water into City Harbor,”
Juneau Empire
(June 19, 2001), <
www.juneauempire.com
>.

53    The full report
Interim Cruise Ship Sampling Data Summary
is available on-line at <
www.state.ak.us/dec/press/cruise/pdfs/interim-summ090601.pdf
>.

54    See “Babbitt OKs Rise in Glacier Bay Traffic,”
Los Angeles Times
(December 22, 1994), p. A25.

55    See Tom Kenworthy, “Babbit Orders Park Service to Endorse Increase of Cruise Ships in Glacier Bay,”
Washington Post
(December 21, 1994), p. A4. Interestingly, Bruce Babbitt was Secretary of the Interior at the time. His former law firm represents Holland America Line, which has the largest number of permits to Glacier Bay; see Tom Kenworthy, “Tour Operator Was Client of Babbitt’s Ex-Law Firm,”
Washington Post
(January 24, 1995), p. A9.

56    See Paula Dobbyn, “Bill Would Aid Glacier Bay Ships,”
Anchorage Daily News
(July 13, 2001), <
www.adn.com
>.

57    Yereth Rosen, “Blow to Head Kills Alaska Humpback Whale,”
Reuters,
(July 25, 2001).

58    “Cruise Lines Give $75,000 to GOP After Judge Lifts Donations Cap,”
Associated Press
(July 23, 2001). It is also worth noting that in 1998 Alaska congressman Don Young, through his role as chairperson of the House Committee on Resources, preserved foreign cruise lines’ monopoly on entry permits to Glacier Bay National Park until 2009. Congressman Young received $45,000 in contributions from cruise industry employees in recent years; one of his former staff members now works as the chief lobbyist for Holland America Line, which holds the largest number of permits to Glacier Bay. See Douglas Frantz, “Cruise Lines Profit from Friends in Congress,”
New York Times
(February 19, 1999), <
www.nytimes.com
>.

59    Cruise lines have for many years played ports against each other as a way of resisting increased port charges or other issues. This was identified by the Caribbean Hotel Association as a major concern as early as 1991. See David Renwick, “Cruise Lines ’Harm’ Caribbean,”
Lloyd’s List
(March 12, 1991), p. 2. In 1992, when the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) increased head taxes, cruise lines threatened to boycott countries that levy rates they consider unreasonable. See “Caribbean ‘Head Tax’ Row Looms,”
Lloyd’s List
(February 19, 1992), p. 3.

60    See David Renwick, “Bahamian Ports Face Boycott Threat,”
Lloyd’s List
(June 15, 1992), p. 3.

61    “Lines Resist Caribbean Tax,”
Lloyd’s List
(March 31, 1994), p. 18.

62    “Jamaica and Cruise Lines Reach Tax Compromise,”
Miami Herald
(August 27, 1993), <
www.herald.com
>.

63    Mark Fineman, “Tax on Passengers is a Lot of Garbage, Cruise Lines Say,”
Los Angeles Times
(March 20, 1998), p. A5.

68    “Caribbean Ports ‘Not Enforcing’ Green Laws,”
Lloyd’s List
(June 24,

1992), p. 3.

69    Industry insiders rarely address this issue. For one viewpoint, see Anre Baekkelund, “Solving the People Pollution Problem,”
Seatrade Cruise Review
(December 1999), p. 61.

Chapter 5: Below the Passenger Deck

1    International Transport Workers’ Federation, “The Dark Side of the Cruise Industry,”
Seafarers’ Bulletin
14 (2000), p. 17.

2    International Commission on Shipping,
Inquiry into Ship Safety: Ships, Slaves and Competition
(ICONS, 2000), p. 59.

3    Heinz Niedermaier, “The Future of F&B,”
Cruise Industry News Quarterly
(Summer 1999), p. 44.

4    “Crew Count Set to Double,”
Lloyd’s List
(June 9, 2001), .

5    ICONS,
Inquiry into Ship Safety.

6    Christopher Reynolds and Dan Weikel, “For Cruise Workers, Voyages Are No Vacations,”
Los Angeles Times
(May 30, 2000), p. T5.

7    Paul K. Chapman,
Trouble on Board: The Plight of International Seafarers
(ILR Press, 1992), p. 56.

8    Kirk Nielsen, “The Perfect Scam: For the Workers Life Is No Carnival, Believe It or Not,”
Miami New Times
(February 3-9, 2000), <
www.miaminewtimes.com
>.

9    Chapman,
Trouble on Board,
p. 67.

10    Anne Kalosh, “Shipboard Confidential: Love, Sex, Death, and the Barron’s Missing Trousers,”
Los Angeles Times
(September 12, 1993), p. L1.

11    See “Cruise Line Settles Suit by Ex-Worker Citing Rape,”
New York Times
(December 5, 1999), p. 40.

12    “Former Employee Claims Luxury Liner Allowed Sexually Charged Working Environment,”
SF Gate News
(December 7, 1998).

13    Ibid.

14    ICONS,
Inquiry into Ship Safety,
p. 60.

15    Filipino workers typically pay $1,500 to join a cruise ship. See ITF,“The Dark Side of the Cruise Industry.”

16    Reynolds and Weikel, “For Cruise Workers, Voyages Are No

Vacations.” In many cases, the cruise line advances the cost of airfare and deducts the cost from employees’ paychecks. See Kevin Moran, “Lost at Sea: Cruise Workers Must Endure Long Hours for Others’ Leisure,”
Houston Chronicle
(September 29, 1996), p. 28.

17    Chapman,
Trouble on Board,
p. 32.

18    Joshua Harris Prager, “For Cruise Workers, Life Is No ’Love Boat’,”
Wall Street Journal
(July 3, 1997), p. B1.

19    Nielsen, “The Perfect Scam.”

20    One reporter suggests that the threat of returning to an economic disaster area back home keeps workers on Carnival’s payroll, earning $550 a month — a wage far below the poverty level in the United States. The company’s response is along the lines of: “If you don’t like the salary, you can go.” As one worker comments, “It’s like blackmail.” See Nielsen, “The Perfect Scam.”

21    See, for example, H.R. 03-818,
Coverage ofCertain Federal Labor Laws to Foreign Documented Vessels
(Government Printing Office, 1994), p. 3; and Joel Glass, “House Subcommittee Reviews Bogey of Maritime Labour Law,”
Lloyd’s List
(October 10, 1992), p. 4.

22    Nielsen, “The Perfect Scam.”

23    In Paul Courtice, “Have MD, Will Travel”
(Medical Post,
October 19,

1999, p. 27), the author suggests that “when the captain withholds the stabilizers, he is rewarded by saving fuel, food, and additionally makes a percentage on resulting pharmaceutical sales.” The food savings and increased pharmaceutical sales are the result of a greater incidence of seasickness due to the stabilizers not being used. The stabilizers’ function is to help keep the ship stable (by reducing side-to-side movement) but the ship burns more fuel when they are in use.

24    A ship’s physician reportedly receives 20 percent of medical fees collected; the nurse receives 10 percent. See Courtice, “Have MD, Will Travel.”

25    Joel Glass, “ICCL Gives Ultimatum to House of Representatives SubCommittee on Relocation of Foreign-Flag Vessels,”
Lloyd’s List
(May 15, 1993), p. 3. For further detail, see US Congress,
Hearing on H.R. 1517, Foreign Flag Ships: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Labor Standards, Occupational Health, and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives,
103rd Cong., 1st sess., May 13, 1993 (Government Printing Office, 1993), Y 4.ED 8/1:10309.

26    International Transport Workers’ Federation,
Big Red Bombshell
(ITF, February 2001), p. 6.