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Princess Cruise Lines Faces $40 Million Fine for Environmental Crimes
In a landmark case, Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. (Princess) has been sentenced to pay a $40 million penalty for illegal dumping of oil contaminated waste and falsifying records, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida in Miami, Florida.
The sentence was imposed today by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz in Miami. Princess was found guilty of deliberate vessel pollution and falsification of official logs to conceal the discharges, which took place on five Princess ships: Caribbean Princess, Star Princess, Grand Princess, Coral Princess, and Golden Princess.
The case against Princess began with a whistleblower, a British engineer who first reported the illegal discharges to the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), which in turn provided the evidence to the U.S. Coast Guard. The engineer reported that a so-called “magic pipe” had been used on Aug. 23, 2013, to illegally discharge oily waste off the coast of England without the use of required pollution prevention equipment.
The evidence gathered by the whistleblower, including photographs of the magic pipe, led to an inspection of the cruise ship both in England and then when it reached New York on Sept. 14, 2013. During each of the separate inspections, certain crew members concealed the illegal activity by lying to the authorities in accordance with orders they had received from Caribbean Princess engineering officers.
According to papers filed in court, the Caribbean Princess had been making illegal discharges through bypass equipment since 2005, one year after the ship began operations. The August 2013 discharge approximately 23-miles off the coast of England involved approximately 4,227 gallons within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
The sentence imposed by Judge Seitz also requires that Princess remain on probation for a period of five years during which time all of the related Carnival cruise ship companies trading in the U.S. will be required to implement an environmental compliance plan that includes independent audits by an outside company and oversight by a court-appointed monitor.
The case against Princess is a stark reminder of the consequences of environmental crimes and the importance of accountability in the maritime industry. The sentence should ensure that these crimes do not take place in the future and send a strong message to others that illegally polluting U.S. waters will not be tolerated.
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Environmental Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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