Carnival releases washwater study results

On March 6, Carnival Corp & plc released the results of an independent, two-year scientific washwater study that shows the company's advanced air quality systems/scrubbers are a safe and effective means for compliance with the International Maritime Organization's 2020 requirements, which include regulations for cleaner air emissions and strict washwater quality standards.

The study also concluded that the washwater samples were below the limits set by several major national and international water quality and land-based water discharge standards to provide further proof of the quality and safety of the washwater, even when compared to criteria like drinking water.

The study included 281 washwater samples from 53 Carnival Corp & plc ships equipped with the systems, creating the largest washwater data set in the marine industry.

Additionally, the report compared the samples to selected national and international water quality benchmark standards, including the German Waste Water Ordinance, the EU Industrial Emissions Directive and the Surface Water Standards of the EU's Water Framework Directive.

The World Health Organization's drinking water guidelines were also evaluated. The scrubber test results compared favourably with all of these major benchmark standards, according to the study, demonstrating that the composition of the water was not only consistently below, but in most cases, significantly below the most stringent limits.