Outlook
[EXTERNAL] Take Action to Reduce Cruise Harms!
From Natalie Franz <noreply@adv.actionnetwork.org>
Date Wed 2/19/2025 7:02 PM
To Commission-Public-Records <commission-public-records@portseattle.org>
WARNING: External email. Links or aachments may be unsafe.
Commission_Testimony Port Meeting,
Dear Port Commissioners and staff,
I urge you to take action to immediately reduce the harms caused by Seattle’s cruise sector.
Giant cruise ships pollute our waters and air, endanger our health and our climate, exploit
onboard workers, and overwhelm destination communities.
I urge the Port of Seattle to take the following actions:
1) Annually reduce the number of sailings, until there is zero water, air and climate pollution. The
“Green Cruise Corridor” claims that it may eventually reduce emissions, but we need to start
now!
2) Lobby the WA state legislature to expand the mission of WA ports to include stewardship. The
Port should advocate to update state law so that ports are no longer mandated to continually
grow business at the expense of the environment and our health. The current mission is obsolete
and dangerous in light of the climate and environmental crises we now face.
3) Support the proposed U.S. Clean Shipping Act, which would end emissions from all ships by
2040 and would also electrify ports to stop health-harming pollution. This law would apply to
freight and cruise ships, and contains reduction benchmarks. The “Greenest Port in North
America'' should champion the effort to raise the bar for all US vessels.
4) Reject false solutions and speak out publicly about the need for true solutions. LNG fracked
gas is proven to be as bad or worse for the climate than traditional fuels, yet cruise companies
sailing out of Seattle make claims that LNG cruise ships are environmentally friendly. “Engine
scrubbers” that turn air pollution into water pollution should not be allowed along the Seattle-
Alaska cruise route; instead of using scrubbers, cruise companies could simply pay for a higher
grade of available fuel. "Net zero" and "carbon neutral" are goals that allow climate pollution to
continue and are not in line with keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees - we need actual
zero emissions vessels and targets.
5) Approach discussions, goals, studies, and presentations about the cruise sector in an honest,
holistic, and unbiased way. When economics are discussed, there should be a transparent
breakdown of the purported financial benefit to our region, AND a breakdown of negative costs
3/10/25, 1:22 PM
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caused by the industry directly, and the costs of exacerbating the climate crisis. Emissions from
the the flights associated with cruise passengers, and from the ships’ entire journeys, should be
counted in the greenhouse gas inventories. Environmental accomplishments must be framed in
the context of total emissions/pollution generated to give a true picture of their effectiveness.
Take responsibility for the four billion gallons of annual water pollution dumped along the SEA-
AK route.
6) Work in collaboration to support regional solutions that could reduce harm immediately. The
entire Seattle-Alaska route should be a "no discharge zone," to stop the dumping of sewage,
toxic engine scrubber waste, garbage, oily bilge water, and greywater. The “Alaska Rangers”
onboard observer program needs to be funded by passenger fees, and expanded to enforce
environmental regulations along the entire route.
The destructive impacts of cruises are enormous & fundamental to the industry’s current
business model: cruise profits depend directly upon externalizing the costs of pollution &
exploitation. Seattle should lead the way for all North American ports to immediately to
immediately reduce harms, while exploring ways to equitably transition away from this
devastating form of toxic tourism.
Please consider this to be a written comment as part of public comment at the next Port
Commission meeting. Thank you.
Natalie Franz
Eilatan5445@gmail.com
Tacoma, Washington 98405
3/10/25, 1:22 PM
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