Photos: Celebrity Summit Crew Clean Beaches

Crew members from the Celebrity Summit cruise ship took the afternoon off from their duties on board the ship to do a beach cleanup on Thursday afternoon [Aug 17], along with Keep Bermuda Beautiful at Black Bay Beach and the Glass Beach in Dockyard.

A spokesperson said, “Cruise ships bring tourists to Bermuda which helps Bermuda’s economy. But who knew that a cruise ship could also bring help for Bermuda’s environment.

“Nearly 40 crew members from the Celebrity Summit cruise ship took the afternoon off from their duties on board the ship to do a beach cleanup for Keep Bermuda Beautiful at Black Bay Beach and the Glass Beach in Dockyard on Thursday afternoon on August 17.

KBB Executive Director Anne Hyde said, “It is wonderful have this unexpected source of volunteers to help keep our beaches clean and litter-free. They have a shared understanding about the importance of keeping our oceans healthy.

“I met the group at Black Bay and welcomed Captain Alex Papadopoulos Master of the Celebrity Summit and the Environmental Officer Diana Mihalache, along with three dozen crew members for an afternoon of community service benefiting Bermuda. We started with a brief presentation about how harmful litter is to our turtles, birds and other marine life who get tangled in it or ingest it.”

“The crew got lucky with the weather as the skies cleared just in time from the heavy morning rain. The large group of volunteers divided into teams to cover multiple areas, the adjacent beaches, the park and along the roadside all the way to Grey’s Bridge.

“Crew members looked for even the smallest litter and marine debris, including cigarette butts. What they found was a mix of local litter left behind from picnics and fishing or thrown from cars, as well as marine debris that floated to Bermuda from countries hundreds of miles away.

“Following the Gulf Stream and pushed ashore by tide and prevalent westerly winds, these two West End beaches get more than their share of floating ocean washing ashore. Once the teams were finished, bags were tied shut and piled up as burnable general waste or blue bag recycling. With time to spare, some crew members took the opportunity for a quick swim before heading back to the ship and back to work.

“The team on the nearby Glass Beach took a group picture next to the WEDCO sign which reminds people that it is unlawful to remove the natural sea glass from the beach. The sign encourages everyone to leave it behind for locals and visitor to enjoy.

“Ms. Hyde, speaking to a handful of volunteers, described the beauty of the sea glass by saying, “Most of this took decades of being tumbled by waves over the rocky reefs to turn it into smooth sea glass. Additionally, much of the glass in those bygone days was hand-blown and very thick, not like the thin modern glass of beer bottles, so once the sea glass is gone, it cannot be replicated.”

“The Celebrity Summit calls into Bermuda over a four-month period and is in port for three days. There are more than 900 crew members to take care of 2,500 passengers. Crew members hail from different countries, many speak several languages, and work in a variety of positions on board the ship such as Human Resources, Accounting, Shore Excursions and Entertainment.

“The agents at Meyer Shipping connected the ship’s Environmental Officer with KBB to organize the beach cleanup. Summit crew members did a Bermuda beach cleanup last summer and two this summer. WEDCO assisted to truck away the collected debris. BGA donated the trash bags and Butterfield & Vallis donated the blue recycling bags used at this cleanup and others.

“The ship’s Environmental Officer Ms. Mihalache remarked, “We are happy to be able to assist and to expand our environmental Save the Waves program beyond the ship limits.

“We aim to provide authentic destinations to our guests and that would not be possible without clean shores free of marine litter. Bermuda is an amazing place and helping out this way is just a small token of our appreciation for having us here every week during summer. Thank you, Bermuda!”

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Category: All, Environment, News, Photos