What cruise ships in the Monterey harbor mean for tourism and the environment
It’s been 17 years since there have been any environmental issues with cruise ships entering the Monterey Harbor. Wednesday, the second cruise ship of the year arrived.
When a cruise ship like the Crystal Symphony pulls into the Monterey Bay, hundreds of tourists flood the wharf and the surrounding areas. The city says these visitors spend an average of more than a $100 per person.
These massive vessels are only allowed to be docked for a day trip, and in the last few years there have been more stops in the Monterey Bay than ever before.
Each year since 2017 has had more than 10. However, there are strict guidelines to prevent oil spills and waste water.
“Our rule is no discharges whatsoever. Even if those same discharges would be legal somewhere else in the United States, we simply prohibit them outright,” Scott Kathey, with Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary said.
“It’s probably good for the economy, but I’ve read a lot about cruise ships polluting quite a bit recently,” Marina resident Tristan Tophan said.
There has been one instance of that pollution this century in Monterey. It actually came from Crystal Cruises, the same company who owns the ship that docked in the bay on Wednesday.
It broke its agreement with the Monterey Sanctuary in the early 2000s by releasing waste, and the city then banned Crystal.
In the last few years, Monterey has allowed them back into the harbor because of a clean record since.
“Through thoughtful regulation, we need to encourage the tourism industry to be responsible as well,” Pacific Grove resident Betsy Adler said.
Earlier this week, the city of Monterey hosted a meeting to try to ease these resident’s minds. Regulators like the Coast Guard and marine sanctuary vouched that these cruise ships have been clean.
“This year alone we’ve done probably four or five vessel examinations in Monterey and with that we haven’t found any deficiencies this year,” Lt. Amanda Garcia with the U.S. Coast Guard said.
With the departure of today’s ship, 13 more are scheduled to enter the Monterey Bay barring weather conditions, with six of them in October.
