The cruise ship season in Seattle is mostly over. A cruise is a strange thing to witness as a resident of the place that is visited. A thousand people come in to the city from the ship, do whatever it is they do, then, on Sunday night, they slide silently out of the harbor on to some next destination or to home, bringing with them the the same shock they brought on us wherever they land next.
I’m sure the cruise ships are good for the local economy. They descend upon the city staying fairly close to the pier they tie to, consume, spend, gather, and then leave. Its kind of awesome from an economic point of view if only a little rapacious and unsightly from every other point of view. At any rate, I can see why the city encourages them to come.
I take exception to the way they continue running their diesel engines while moored. Sometimes there are five or six ships blowing smoke at anchor all weekend. This is to keep their systems running, no doubt but I think the city should find a way to power them from the grid while they’re here. I’m sure it would take a lot of power, perhaps even a dedicated plant but the point source pollution would certainly be better for Seattle residents than the raw exhaust that these notoriously filthy beasts, who spend most of their time in international waters dumping and fuming to their hearts’ content, emit.