Pew Ocean Commission News

Study on Cruise Ships' Waste Will Continue

According to the PI Reporter, work will continue on a study of whether it is feasible and desirable for the 150 Alaska-bound cruise ships that visit Seattle's waterfront every summer to pump their wastewater ashore rather than dumping it in the ocean. The study is being undertaken by the county's wastewater division and the Port of Seattle in light of the new $60 million cruise terminal being developed by the port at Terminal 91 in Interbay. The new terminal is set to debut in April 2008. A separate project to expand its capacity for handling storm water and sewage at Interbay could be outfitted to transmit the summer cruise waste to Magnolia's West Point Treatment Plant.