29 Jun Port of Seattle and Cruise Industry Reps Gaslight Public

MEDIA ADVISORY – for immediate release

Port of Seattle and Cruise Industry Reps Gaslight Public 

On June 29th, the Port of Seattle and cruise industry representatives held a webinar called Safely Restarting Seattle’s Cruise Industry, part of a broader initiative called “Cruise Healthy”.  The irony is almost as massive as the Ovation of the Seas that recently docked in Seattle to begin pre-voyage preparations. 

Tropes you might expect were shared confidently in front of photos of cruise terminals and Alaskan glaciers–“We have taken a very science-backed approach” and “Safety and health is our #1 concern and top priority”–while deeper questions were met with deflection or ignored completely.

“We are in an unprecedented heat wave right now, in a region not equipped to safely shelter people from these temperatures and we are seeing both people and pets suffering heat related health impacts,” says Nick Manning, Field Coordinator for Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. “As the climate crisis worsens, global temperatures rise, and as heat waves, droughts, and uncontrollable wildfires increase in severity and frequency, impacts and death tolls will only get worse. When you couple the climate impacts of these massive ships with the toxic and carcinogenic smokestack emissions it seems like the slogan “cruise healthy” was created as a cruel joke.”

Environmental concerns were touched on by several of the cruise reps during the presentation, proudly sharing achievements that sound good at first, but don’t really hold up to any scrutiny: switching one fossil fuel for another; putting enough solar panels on a ship to power–wait for it… the elevators; name dropping fuel consumption and energy efficiency while touting bigger ships and additional sailings. 

When a question was raised in the Q&A space linking fossil fuel intensive cruise ships to the climate crisis, referencing our current record setting heat wave as an example of the need for swift action, Stephanie Jones-Stebbins, Port of Seattle Maritime Director, deflected the notion by saying “There’s a difference between weather and climate,” (VIDEO) essentially denying the link between what we have all been experiencing and the dire warnings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 

“I’m not sure how they can make some of these statements with a straight face,” says Stacy Oaks, an organizer with 350 Seattle, “or how they can make some of the economic claims they do while not sharing the full picture. One example mentioned today is wineries receiving business from cruise visitors and serving local bottles on board, yet earlier this month a vineyard in Grandview, Washington announced they would have no 2020 vintage, the whole crop that year tainted by the taste of wildfire smoke. There’s never a discussion of the negative costs to our region or the planet from these polluting ships.”

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