Balancing Cruise Ship Growth & Charleston Charm

How cruise ship traffic grows is a crucial question for Charleston, a city renowned for antebellum architecture and historic downtown neighborhoods that draw millions of visitors each year. Large cruise ship operations in the heart of the city’s historic district currently run afoul of local ordinances, snarl traffic by closing downtown streets, and discharge pollution into nearby public waters.

Due to concern about the impacts of cruise ship tourism on the city and National Historic Landmark district, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed Charleston on its 2011 endangered “watch list.”

The number of cruise ship visits to Charleston grew from 33 dockings in 2009, to 67 in 2010, to an expected 90 dockings scheduled for 2011. Two-thirds of the 2011 visits are home-port calls by the Carnival Fantasy which involve the unloading of passengers for 1026 staterooms– twice as many rooms as the largest hotel in Charleston – and transfers of supplies and garbage. On embark/debark days, the influx of cars and trucks closes two public streets in the downtown historic district.

The Carnival Fantasy has not sought necessary permits from the South Carolina pollution control agency for its discharges into public waters. After attempts to address growing cruise impacts through other means failed, SELC filed suit in state courts on behalf of citizens against Carnival Cruise Lines to enforce local laws that protect the city’s healthy environment and treasured historic assets.