Nearly 500 Carnival Cruise Line employees and local partners took part in a large environmental cleanup campaign spanning ports around the world.

377 shipboard team members from 29 cruise ships joined 111 shoreside employees and community partners for 31 cleanup activities.

Together, the volunteers collected more than 5,000 pounds of trash and debris from coastlines and communities stretching from Galveston and Miami to Alaska, the Caribbean, Greece and Australia.

The activities were organized in connection with International Coastal Cleanup Day and formed part of Carnival’s “Our Sea Pledge,” the cruise line’s year-round environmental commitment.

The participation of 377 shipboard employees is particularly notable because crew members joined the activities during their limited time ashore. Depending on their duties and port schedules, cruise ship employees may have only a few free hours available during a port call.

Despite those restrictions, crew members from departments across the fleet volunteered alongside shoreside colleagues and community organizations.

Coastal waste presents a direct threat to marine environments. Plastic, discarded fishing equipment and other debris can enter the ocean, damage coastal habitats and endanger marine animals.

Cleanup events cannot solve the wider problem alone, but they can prevent collected waste from reaching the sea while building stronger connections between ships and the communities they visit.

Carnival operates ships across several of the regions included in the campaign, making the health of coastal communities and marine environments closely connected to its operations.

The company thanked the crew members, shoreside employees and local partners who participated.