BAR HARBOR — The discharge of soapy water by the coastal cruise ship Independence while it was tied up to the town pier on Memorial Day, May 28, was the result of crew error, according to an investigation conducted by harbormaster Charlie Phippen.

The water was effluent from clothes washing machines on the ship, Captain John Ayer of American Cruise Lines (ACL), the parent company of the ship, told Mr. Phippen on May 30. The overboard discharge valves to the forward washing machines on the 105-passenger ship had inadvertently been left open, Cpt. Ayer said.

“The discharge was gray water only and there was no chance for black water to discharge from this particular valve,” Mr. Phippen said. “The type of detergent used in the washing machines is biodegradable and meets EPA standards.”

The discharge was reported to Mr. Phippen’s office by a concerned citizen, and Mr. Phippen subsequently observed suds near the ship on a review of video surveillance footage from that day.

The town’s standard operating procedures for cruise ships outlines the expectation that all ships, whether at anchor in the bay or alongside the pier, will hold all waste water, including gray water, while in port. This is also the policy of the Independence while in port here, Mr. Phippen said, and all overboard discharge valves are supposed to be secured.

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