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Sewage and Greywater Pollution

A large tanker ship pumping is bilge.
Sunsinger / Adobe Stock

More Ships, More Wastewater

Most large vessels discharge wastewater into the ocean, including sewage and greywater—the drainage from showers, sinks, dishwashers and laundries.

As shipping increases in the Bering Strait region, so do the risks related to release of sewage and greywater.

An oil tanker at anchor in Alaska pumping its bilge water.
Mizamook

Polluted Shellfish, Oxygen-Starved Fish

Clamshells on wilderness beach in Alaska.
Betty Sederquist

When ships discharge sewage and greywater, it can raise fecal coliform levels in shellfish – a real concern for communities that rely on marine-based diets.

It can also deplete oxygen needed by fish and other species, and cause harmful algal blooms.

Walruses swim in the Arctic Ocean.
OLEG BOZHOK

Less Ice, More Cruise Ships

Cruise ship traffic is growing in the Bering Strait region and presents a special concern. Because they carry so many passengers, cruise ships discharge large volumes of sewage and greywater.

In the summer of 2019, seven cruise ships were scheduled to visit the Port of Nome, the most of any season to date.

“Cargo and cruise ships are large pollution producers. They could change their dirty ways but won’t do it willingly. If we could find ways to hold accountable big energy, oil, industry and commercial and agriculture—which comprise the remaining GHG emissions—I think we probably would be in a better shape globally.”

—Austin Ahmasuk, lifelong Nome resident, hunter, trapper and fisher.

To read more from Austin, see his guest blog → We are in a Climate Crisis, Reflections from Nome on Cruise Ships Navigating an Increasingly Ice-free Arctic

A cruise ship in the Bering Sea entering stormy weather.
RUBEN RAMOS

Recommendations

The bow of a tanker ship pumping its bilge.
Adobe Stock
Strengthen international laws to restrict greywater discharges.
Establish “no-discharge” zones in sensitive marine areas.
Require vessels to store sewage and greywater onboard while traveling in the Arctic and offload it only in ports.
Click to download the infographic → Wastewater: All You Need to Know About Discharge from Ships
Passenger vessels discharge significant volumes of sewage and greywater.
Ocean Conservancy

Less Ice, More Ships = New Challenges

View Map

1

Overview

The Bering Strait

The sun's reflection on Arctic sea ice.
Silver / Adobe Stock
2

Ship Strikes and Underwater Noise

A WHALE DIVES UNDER WHILE AS A CARGO SHIP PASSES IN THE DISTANCE.
T_O_M_O / ADOBE STOCK
3

Heavy Fuel Oil

The bow of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Beaufort Sea, northeast of Barrow, Alaska.
NASA/Kathryn Hansen
4

Shipping Emissions

RED OIL TANKER ANCHORED OFFSHORE AND RUNNING ITS ENGINES.
Panalot/Adobe Stock
5

At-Sea-Transfer of Fuel

A SHIP TO SHIP TRANSFER OF FUEL KNOWN AS "LIGHTERING."
ZUMA Press, Inc.
6

Sewage and Greywater Pollution

A LARGE TANKER SHIP PUMPING IS BILGE.
Sunsinger / Adobe Stock
7

No-Go Zones for Shipping

A "ROAD END" SIGN AT THE EDGE OF THE BERING SEA PACK ICE, NOME, ALASKA.
WorldFoto

Shipping in the Bering Strait Region

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Container ship on sea ice.
Westend 61 / Getty Images

Improving shipping safety will help protect the Bering Strait for future generations.”

Janis Searles Jones, CEO Ocean Conservancy
© Get Credit!
— Janis Searles Jones, CEO Ocean Conservancy

Container ship on sea ice.
Westend 61 / Getty Images
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At-Sea Transfer of Fuel
Sewage & Greywater Pollution
No-Go Zones for Shipping