Americas News
Seattle-Based Cruise Ships a Priority for Scrubbers
Carnival Cruises will spend about $10 million to install exhaust-gas scrubbers on its five Seattle-based ships as part of a larger effort to comply with new rules for the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA), the Puget Sound Business Journal reports.
"It's a really big deal for Seattle and Alaska trade," said Tom Dow, Carnival Cruises vice president of public affairs.
"They were carrying a disproportionate burden of this regulation."
Carnival Cruises, as well as subsidiary companies Holland-America Line and Princess Cruises, operate ships out of the Port of Seattle, and the company's Alaskan cruises are largely based in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada.
The cruise company plans to spend more than $180 million to add scrubbers to its entire fleet.
While it has not yet made a final decision about which ships to retrofit first, Dow said "clearly the prime candidates include the ships based in Seattle."
Without the scrubbers, Carnival has said it would have to spend an extra $150 million a year on low-sulfur fuel for its Alaskan cruises.
Carnival announced plans to add the scrubbers to its 32 ships after receiving approval for the technology from regulators in the U.S. and Canada.
