Sedimentation in the Ozama River is threatening the success of the cruise ship season that has just gotten underway. The imminent arrival of the Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas cruise ship filled with tourists on 16 November has caused the local officialdom to take action, however. The first day’s cleanup activities brought up 300 cubic meters of mud and garbage, as authorities seek to avoid a repeat of an incident last 26 October when the intake turbines of the Royal Caribbean vessel Empress of the Seas sucked up the carcass of an old refrigerator, causing extensive damage while moored at the Don Diego docks. Called a “natural garbage dump” by ecologist Eleuterio Martinez, the Ozama is the natural waste disposal site for the surrounding industries and population. The poorest neighborhoods that lie adjacent to the river do not receive any garbage collection service, and, according to Martinez, “there is a series of industries that use [the river] as their private dumping ground.” The local dredging company, Dragados del Caribe, had begun a hydrological study last Wednesday, which was supposed to last for three days as the company identified the most important areas to be dredged. The Dominican Navy’s Dredging and Dams department, however, ordered a 24-hour-a-day workload in order to guarantee water depth at dockside of at least 10 meters and ensure the safety of the liner that is due to arrive “in the next few days.” Accumulated sediment and refuse has robbed the waterway of approximately three meters from the depth of the anchorage. While Dragados del Caribe officially holds the contract for the cleanup efforts, its equipment is not in use because of a reported mechanical flaw. There are 16 sailors currently working on the dredging.
The Empress of the Seas has another trip set to depart for a 4-day South Caribbean Cruise on 15 November from San Juan, docking in Santo Domingo on the 16 and 17 November, to then travel to Casa de Campo and Catalina Island in La Romana prior to returning to San Juan.