From Texas Standard:
Cruise operator Carnival Corp. was convicted in 2016 of illegally dumping oily waste into the ocean and attempting to cover it up. New records show that's still happening.
Miami Herald reporter Taylor Dolven published court documents Tuesday that claim Carnival violated its probation.
The 2016 criminal conviction included charges of conspiracy and came with a $40 million fine. It also mandated a court-appointed monitor for the five-year probation period, and it was findings from the 2017-2018 audits that prompted the new inquiry.
Dolven says Carnival, the largest cruise operator in the world, has a history of environmental misdeeds. Separate convictions in 1998 and 2002 charged the company with the same dumping crime, and the documents show Carnival has dumped other illegal material into ocean waters since its most recent conviction.
“The company seems to have eliminated the problems that were related to its conviction in 2016,” Dolven says. “But there are lots of other issues—violations of laws—including dumping sewage, oil, food waste and other objects overboard.”
At a June hearing, Carnival’s probation officer will decide whether the actions violate the terms, and Dolven says there have already been hints at serious punishment.
“She threatened to block Carnival Corporation's 105 ships from docking at U.S. ports temporarily as a possible punishment,” Dolven says. “She also threw out more monetary sanctions.”
Written by Sol Chase.
