Cruise Line Slapped With $20M Fine After Getting Caught Dumping Trash Into Ocean

• A cruise line company has been found to be illegally dumping food waste and plastic into the ocean.
• Because of this, the company has been fined $20 million for its actions.
• The corporation is now changing its ways and has vowed to reduce gas emissions.

Throwing garbage into the ocean is a huge crime and a cruise line is learning it the hard way. The company has been forced to pay a $20 million fine after one of its subsidiaries was discovered to be releasing food waste and plastic in the ocean.

Carnival Corporation is required to pay $20 million after Princess Cruises, one of its subsidiaries, admitted that they had violated the terms of its probation from a 2017 conviction for improper waste disposal. It was found in a court filing that Carnival dumped food waste and plastic into the ocean and was unable to accurately record waste disposals. In addition to that, they allegedly created false training records.

Back in 2017, Princess Cruises had pled guilty to releasing oil into the ocean and deliberately hiding their practice. Because of this, they were ordered to pay $40 million. The action had kept Carnival Corporation on a five-year probation.

It’s a hefty price to pay and Carnival Corporation has learned its lesson. After settling the $20 million fine, they have become the first cruise company to commit to zero coalition. Earlier in December, the corporation joined the Getting to Zero Coalition, a coalition of companies who are committed to reducing gas emissions by 50% by 2050.

“Across our nine brands, we host more than 12 million guests every year and visit over 700 ports of call around the world. The health and vitality of our oceans and seas, along with the hundreds of communities we visit across the globe, are absolutely essential to our business,” Carnival Corporation said in a statement.

It’s great to see that Carnival Corporation is now taking all the necessary measures to correct their past errors and work better on saving the environment.