Our ships collect wastewater from toilets, urinals, and other similar facilities (including sinks and drains in the medical facility) separately from other wastewaters. This separates waste, called "blackwater" is processed using an approved "Marine Sanitation Device" (MSD). Celebrity's Marine Sanitation Devices use a biological trearment process, which results in effluent with characteristics that are similar to effluents from conventional, shoreside wastewater treatment plants. Royal Caribbean's MSDs use physical and chemical processes to achieve effluent of similar quality.
All MSDs are certified and approved by the US Coast Guard. The US Coast Guard consults with the Enviromental Protection Agency in evaluting processes used by MSDs. The US Coast Guard regularly inspects MSDs while onboard ships for proper operation during their Control Verification Examinations. As part of this inspection, the Coast Guard may ask the company to have the effluent sampled and analyzed by a qualified wastwater laboratory, with the results reported to the Coast Guard.
US and international law allow treated black water to be discharged anywhere, and untreated black water to be discharged outside 4 nautical miles. Consistent with our Above and Beyond Compliance policy, we descharge treated black water only outside of 12 nautical miles.
black water
