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When Arctic sea ice melts, ships follow, and a National Park Service (NPS) resource brief argues that cruise ships need their own rules because they cannot simply be kept away from the wildlife and communities they come to see. The brief describes a set of voluntary "best practices" that had been drafted for cruise ships in Arctic Alaska.
The sun sets over the Arctic Ocean. Photo: USGS/Jessica K. Robertson.
Why cruise ships are a special case
The brief says Arctic sea ice is melting at unprecedented rates, which is expected to bring dramatic increases in shipping and cruise tourism through the Bering, Beaufort and Chukchi seas and their coastal communities. Most of the ships carry bulk goods or containers, or fish commercially, and cruise ships are a small part of the expected increase. But they carry passengers and crew, so they can produce relatively large volumes of waste that affect air and water quality. They also seek out sensitive places, such as ice-dependent seals, polar bears and large whales, which raises the chance of disturbing wildlife or hitting animals and may interfere with subsistence activities. Other ships can be kept away from sensitive areas by time and area restrictions; cruise ships, which go there on purpose, are harder to handle that way.
As steward of several Arctic parks and of the Shared Heritage Beringia Program, the Park Service wanted cruise practices to be consistent with protecting those resources. In 2016 it partnered with the Wildlife Conservation Society's Arctic Beringia Program and the University of Alaska Fairbanks to gather ideas for adaptable, sustainable and culturally sensitive cruise tourism, with Indigenous representatives, scientists and the cruise industry all taking part. The project began before the first voyage of the 1100-passenger Crystal Serenity through the Northwest Passage, which started large-scale cruise tourism in Alaska by that route.
Who was at the table
The project started with a meeting in spring 2016 of the Arctic Waterways Safety Committee (AWSC), a forum that brings local marine interests in the Alaskan Arctic together to develop best practices and to identify and resolve conflicts among Arctic stakeholders collaboratively and voluntarily. The meeting let all parties state their interests and values about cruise impacts and mitigation, and to consider existing guidelines for research cruises in Alaska. A draft, "Best Practices for Cruise Ships Operating the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas," was submitted to the AWSC on March 5, 2019.
Seal meat, an important food source for Arctic subsistence communities, drying on a rack. NPS photo.
What the draft recommends
The document covers cruise ships with overnight accommodation for 50 or more passengers passing through Arctic waters above 60 degrees N. It summarizes voluntary guidelines and points to existing standards elsewhere, aimed at minimizing conflict and avoiding impacts on communities and wildlife in the early stages of a fast-growing industry. It groups its concerns under six headings, and the brief, which says it is not a complete list, highlights a few items from each:
| Topic | Examples from the draft |
|---|---|
| Local engagement | Tell the AWSC at least a year ahead which communities a voyage may affect; develop a Community Service Agreement; avoid culturally significant sites without prior consent; plan for a visit that becomes impractical; make sure affected communities benefit economically |
| Emissions | Limit smoke, prohibit heavy fuel oil, set incineration limits |
| Discharges | Standards for food waste, cargo residues, oil and noxious liquids, sewage and gray water, and detailed advice on ballast exchange |
| Collision and spill prevention | Up-to-date navigation devices and Automatic Identification System; rules for avoiding sea ice; an onboard emergency oil pollution plan, with equipment and contractors ready to respond and report |
| Wildlife disturbance | Stay at least 100 meters from marine mammals; leave an exit route; do not feed animals; limit speed and observation time; avoid protected and subsistence areas; keep small boats separate |
| Site management | Get permission for landing sites; avoid walrus haulouts; limit how many passengers go ashore; avoid anchoring in ecologically sensitive areas; extra guidelines for pinnipeds |
Pacific walrus, one of the animals the draft says ships should keep their distance from. Photo: USGS/Sarah Sonsthagen.
Where it stood
The brief says the AWSC had not yet signed off on the document. The committee was generally favorable but asked planners to keep working with affected villages and to consult Russian and Canadian communities with some success working with large cruise operators, and to focus more on how vessels and coastal communities interact, especially when sensitive marine mammals and active hunters are in the water. The brief expects cruise ship tourism to increase and calls setting guidelines at the start of the industry key to limiting the impact on Arctic resources.
A polar bear. The brief says the standards, once final, would help protect Arctic marine mammals such as this endangered species. NPS photo.
Sources
- National Park Service, Cruise Ship Standards of Care, resource brief for Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument; rewritten in hubnx's own words.
In these publicationsBering Land Bridge National PreserveCape Krusenstern National Monument
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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