High Seas Dumping

1250 Words5 Pages
1) What are the major legal issues in this case? What are the major ethical issues? The legal issues in this case are minimal due to the lack of regulation. The ethical issues, on the other hand, are substantial. Every year due to the high demand for vacation cruises, the amount of pollution dumped into the oceans are staggering. While efforts “could” be made to stem this problem, they are not, because of the high costs involved. If the cruise lines dump their waste beyond 25 miles, then the legal issues become null and void. “By international law, countries may regulate oceans for three miles off their shores. International treaties provide some additional regulation up to 25 miles offshore. Beyond the 25-mile point, however, ships are allowed free rein.” (The Contemporary Business World, chapter 2, pp38) This, however, does not stop the detrimental assault on the environment. The destruction of the marine ecosystem needs to be addressed if we are to save our oceans as our marine life is facing destruction and even extinction. It is, and should be, our moral responsibility to do what is right and prevent and safeguard against this atrocity. The corporate shareholders and top management should take this stance; however, as with all corporate business, what is important is the bottom line, and with business, the bottom line is always profits. 2. Aside from personal greed, what factors might lead a cruise line to illegally dump waste into the ocean? Dumping waste in the ocean is done by the cruise lines because they receive benefit from it. Cruise lines dump wastes because they get lesser costs and lesser time to dump their wastes instead of having proper sewage management control and equipment following the legal standards. Certainly, there are other reasons why cruise lines dump wastes in the ocean. As this is an ethical situation, the
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