Cruise ship’s waste dump

A CRUISE ship which brought thousands of interstate Australians to Hobart for a winter festival left port mid-trip to dump passenger wastewater at sea.

The Pacific Explorer P&O cruise ship which visited Hobart last month for a 48-hour stay during Dark Mofo made a discreet trip away from its berth at midnight on June 20 before arriving back to port about 9am the next morning.

Passengers were notified about the operational voyage before the cruise started and were told to let cruise reception know if they planned to stay ashore during the planned discharge.

In an online post a cruise passenger said staff didn’t inform her why the ship needed to temporarily depart.

“There was no mention made as to the reason for this, so I suspect the need for a little housekeeping was the reason,” part of the post read.

“I understand one man did not make it back on board on time for the midnight departure and had an unscheduled overnight in Hobart.”

A P&O spokeswoman said the discharge of waste at sea was a necessary practice on cruises that carry large passenger numbers.

“With the extended stay there is a need to temporarily leave the berth and go to sea so that stored grey water from sources such as cabin sinks and showers can be discharged in accordance with very strict environmental standards,” a spokeswoman said.

“To be clear, Pacific Explorer sailed at least four nautical miles out to sea, which is further than required by international regulations.”

An Environment Protection Authority spokeswoman said discharge from cruise ships is permissible if the vessel is equipped with a sewage treatment plant that achieves a high standard of effluent quality.

“It must also comply with the MARPOL international convention and Commonwealth Marine Order 96,” a spokeswoman said.

While the EPA is the regulatory authority, the spokeswoman said it was “not a requirement for cruise ship operators to inform the EPA of legal wastewater discharge”.

The Pacific Explorer