MOUNT DESERT, May 17, 2025 - The cruise ship which garnered protest in Portland, Maine, for its unfettered pollution last week in Casco Bay was the same ship in May 2024 which struck and killed an endangered whale and dragged it into the East River in New York, according to press reports.
This smoke is too thick and dark colored to be the legal 1,000ppm that is required within 200 miles of the US coast.
It looks like it is burning 5000ppm HFO.
If so, you’re looking at 170,000 idling semi trucks worth of Sulfur dioxide each burning one gallon of 15ppm on land diesel. Every hour. For 6 days. The Meraviglia burns 600 gallons per hour at anchor. So during the 6 day visit they emitted the equivalent sulfur dioxide as if they burnt 10 million gallons of 15ppm on land diesel. That much SO2 had to have affected people in Portland. Especially asthmatics. It only takes ⅓ of 1ppm to kick off an asthma attack. The number of reports may be public info.
Thank you Joann for exposing the fatally flawed cruise industry.
Thanks Jim for your years of pointing out the polluting
and whale killing dangers of cruise ships ! Thank you Joann for confirming Jim’s tireless advocacy for cruise to change their speed and routes in areas that endanger whales. One would hope these killer cruise ships and their human and maritime victims would be a continuous major news story.
Sadly, they are not. The cruise ship industry has a lobbying and media machine like MAGA/ Trump.
Anyone having an asthma attack or other medical complication as a consequence of the ship's pollution please report it to the city. We should start letting our state reps know too. Some states have taken measures to protect their citizens, air and water.
Hope the city will think twice, or even once, before welcoming such a disaster.
Thanks for this great reporting. I live in Portland and saw the ship for 6 days and had no idea what was going on other than seeing no passengers and black smoke coming out of the stack. Thanks for the intel!
This smoke is too thick and dark colored to be the legal 1,000ppm that is required within 200 miles of the US coast.
It looks like it is burning 5000ppm HFO.
If so, you’re looking at 170,000 idling semi trucks worth of Sulfur dioxide each burning one gallon of 15ppm on land diesel. Every hour. For 6 days. The Meraviglia burns 600 gallons per hour at anchor. So during the 6 day visit they emitted the equivalent sulfur dioxide as if they burnt 10 million gallons of 15ppm on land diesel. That much SO2 had to have affected people in Portland. Especially asthmatics. It only takes ⅓ of 1ppm to kick off an asthma attack. The number of reports may be public info.
Thank you Joann for exposing the fatally flawed cruise industry.
Thanks for this staggering data Jim.
Thanks Jim for your years of pointing out the polluting
and whale killing dangers of cruise ships ! Thank you Joann for confirming Jim’s tireless advocacy for cruise to change their speed and routes in areas that endanger whales. One would hope these killer cruise ships and their human and maritime victims would be a continuous major news story.
Sadly, they are not. The cruise ship industry has a lobbying and media machine like MAGA/ Trump.
Anyone having an asthma attack or other medical complication as a consequence of the ship's pollution please report it to the city. We should start letting our state reps know too. Some states have taken measures to protect their citizens, air and water.
Hope the city will think twice, or even once, before welcoming such a disaster.
I sent the information to Reps Lookner and Pugh.
Thanks for this great reporting. I live in Portland and saw the ship for 6 days and had no idea what was going on other than seeing no passengers and black smoke coming out of the stack. Thanks for the intel!
Has anyone written a combination protest song and sea shanty about this abomination yet?
Has this ship ever anchored in Bar Harbor?
Is it scheduled to visit Bar Harbor?
It is not scheduled this year.
Thank you