As Canada prepares to welcome cruise ships back to its waters, the federal government has announced new environmental measures for vessels sailing in Canadian waters. Formulated in coordination with the cruise industry, the measures will exceed international standards, say the feds.

For the 2022 season, cruise operators will implement stricter environmental measures regarding greywater and blackwater. Greywater is defined as the drainage from sinks, laundry machines, bathtubs, shower-stalls, or dishwashers and blackwater is defined as the wastewater from bathroom and toilets.

The measures include:

• Prohibiting the discharge of greywater and treated blackwater within three nautical miles from shore where geographically possible

• Treating greywater together with blackwater before it is discharged between three and 12 nautical miles from shore to the greatest extent possible

• Strengthening the treatment of blackwater between three and 12 nautical miles from shore using an approved treatment device; and

• Reporting to Transport Canada compliance with these measures as they relate to discharges made within Canadian waters.

These measures are designed to better protect Canada’s oceans and the marine environment and will support work that is underway to conserve 25% of Canada’s oceans by 2025 and 30% by 2030.

The changes will be made permanent through regulations and will be supported by the cruise industry in the interim.

“Cruise ships are an important part of our economy and tourism sector, and as Canada prepares to welcome them back to our waters this month, we are committed to working with our industry partners to implement these new measures to ensure their return is safer and cleaner for our environment,” said minister for transport Omar Alghabra.

“The protection of our oceans and their ecosystems is a top priority for our government,” added Minister of Fisheries Joyce Murray. “With these new measures to address cruise ship pollution, this important part of our tourism sector can now chart a cleaner course through Canada’s spectacular coastal waters.”

The proposed changes will exceed the current Canadian regulations aligned with international standards set out by the International Maritime Organization and complement mandatory requirements already in place. The proposed measures will be supported by periodic reporting by the cruise operators to assess the level of compliance with the reports to be made public.

The cruise ship industry represents more than $4 billion annual input into the Canadian economy and directly and indirectly generates approximately 30,000 jobs.