Tag Archives: Cruise ships

Rivers & Oceans, Tourism

How will cruises impact Prince Rupert’s future?

Editors Note: There were once plans for a cruise ship terminal in Campbell River. The facility was built just before the recession of 2008, at which point the cruise ship companies opted to stick with their tried and tested routes, as well as older terminals like Vancouver and Victoria. Never-the-less, cruise ships continue to pass between Campbell River and Quadra Island. They are also visible from Smelt Bay and parts of Mansons Landing in Southern Cortes Island.

By Seth Forward, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Cruise ships bring cash, and lots of it. For a city such as Prince Rupert facing a huge infrastructure deficit, funnelling thousands of potential customers into the small coastal town could be the boost it desperately needs to get back on its feet.

But catering to the international cruise market comes with plenty of baggage.

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Rivers & Oceans, Transportation

Canada’s new cruise ship rules don’t plug loopholes for major source of wastewater pollution

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The federal government says some new cruise ship pollution measures are now mandatory, but environmental groups say the move still doesn’t plug gaps that permit the ongoing contamination of some of Canada’s most sensitive coastlines.

Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra announced Friday that voluntary measures established last April on the discharge and treatment guidelines for sewage (black water) and grey water — which includes kitchen water, laundry detergent, cleaning products, food waste, cooking oils and grease as well as hazardous carcinogens and other pollutants — will be mandatory immediately under an interim order. 

But the largest source of acidic waste water from cruise ships and other vessels will continue to flow into the ocean unabated, said Anna Barford, shipping campaigner for Stand.earth Canada. 

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Rivers & Oceans, Transportation

Prince Rupert port set to ban cruise ships from dumping contaminated wastewater

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A second port on Canada’s West Coast is proposing a ban on cruise ships dumping contaminated and acidic wastewater while docked to protect the marine environment. 

The Port of Prince Rupert on B.C.’s north coast is taking public feedback until Feb. 5 on changes slated for 2023, including forbidding the open-loop scrubber systems that cruise ships use to clean their exhaust when burning dirty fuel. 

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Rivers & Oceans, Tourism

Prince Rupert gets a $3.5 million boost from the return of cruise tourism

By Kaitlyn Bailey, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After two years without any cruise ships in Prince Rupert due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cruise tourism returned bigger than before.

Between May 17 and Oct. 3, 42 cruise ships with more than 40,000 passengers stopped in the city, the P.R. Port Authority (PRPA) announced.

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Rivers & Oceans, Tourism, Waste

B.C. municipalities want action on cargo and cruise ship pollution

By Natasha Bulowski with files from Rochelle Baker, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporters

B.C. municipalities are pushing for stronger environmental protections from the federal government to keep harmful cargo and cruise ship pollution out of the ocean.

In a “historic” motion unanimously passed Sept. 16, the Union of BC Municipalities asked the province to urge the federal government to address pollution produced by exhaust cleaning systems on cargo and cruise ships, according to a Stand.earth press release.

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