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Carnival Cruise Lines faces eviction by home port of Charleston
Carnival Cruise Lines Fantasy ship based in Charleston faces threats from preservation and environmental groups that claim it breaks zoning ordinances and threatens the city’s historic character.
The groups contend Carnival’s presence violates environmental laws. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has also warned the city that the growing cruise industry threatens its long-standing and visitor-popular historic character.
Carnival last year became the first cruise ship to permanently homeport in Charleston, where it departs to the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda, according to the Post and Courier.
Civil law suits are asking courts to find Carnival is illegally docking at Charleston’s Union Pier Terminal, according to the AP.
Cruise ships have sailed seasonally from Charleston in the past, but the 2,056-passenger Fantasy became a permanent resident in May 2010 and is sailing some 70 five-, six- and seven-night cruises in this year.
The embarkation port serves hundreds of thousands of drive-to cruisers from the Carolinas and Georgia; port officials told Reuters that the cruise industry brings US$37 million annually into a three-county coastal region and supports more than 400 jobs.
“The suit claims Carnival Fantasy should be subject to the same zoning ordinances as other area accommodations. For instance, the ship exceeds the height limit of 60 feet, and the signature ‘whale tale’ smokestack, which a release from the plaintiffs described as towering above the city's historic skyline, violates local sign ordinances,” said Cruise Critic.
The lawsuit further contends that Fantasy is discharging waste into South Carolina waters without permits required by state pollution control laws.
The litigants are not anti-cruise, says their attorney Blan Holman, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), insisted that the litigants are not anti-cruise.
"People simply want to see Carnival play by the rules just like everyone else so that an uncontrolled cruise industry doesn't swamp Charleston's health and heritage," he said in a press release.
By David Wilkening
David
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