Princess Cruise Lines Apologizes For Probation Violation – CBS Miami

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – Princess Cruises on Wednesday pleaded guilty to violating probation in connection with previous environmental crimes.

Company officials signed a plea agreement in Miami federal court, according to court records.

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The company must pay a criminal penalty of $1 million and take remedial measures to ensure that the company and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, establish and maintain an independent internal investigation office. create.

“Just like individual defendants, corporate defendants must also comply with court orders. They are not above the law,” US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez said in a statement.

“The company’s defendant here ignored the court, choosing instead to block the compliance plan that was put in place to protect our environment.”

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Princess was fined $40 million in 2017 after pleading guilty to felony charges stemming from knowingly dumping oily waste from one of her ships and with an intentional cover-up.

As part of the probation process, all Carnival-related cruise ships that use US ports are required to adhere to a supervised environmental compliance plan.

Princess was found guilty of six probation violations in 2019 and fined an additional $20 million.

A common factual basis for Wednesday’s plea said Princess admitted that internal investigators were not authorized to define the scope of their investigation and that draft internal investigations were affected and blocked. delayed by the management.

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