Federal Court to Decide on Blocking Carnival Ships from U.S. Ports on June 24
by Daniel McCarthy /
Carnival Corp. will head back to court on June 24 to hear whether or not it will be punished for alleged probation violations after a federal judge threatened to temporarily block its ships from docking at U.S. ports during a court conference on Wednesday.
Carnival Corp. was on probation for two years after Princess Cruise Lines in 2016 pled guilty to seven charges of pollution of the seas. As part of that settlement, Carnival Corp. paid $40 million and agreed to operate under a court supervised Environmental Compliance Program (ECP) for five years.
The court is alleging that the practice continued with some ships from several of the company’s brands releasing grey water into Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, along with other violations, including dumping plastics, illegally preparing ships for audit, and falsifying records, all of which were acknowledged in court filings.
In a statement to Travel Market Report, Carnival Corp. spokesperson Roger Frizzell said that the company “heard the concerns expressed by Judge Seitz and will do our utmost to ensure we meet all expectations under the ECP and continue to strive to be best in class on environmental compliance.”
“Our environmental responsibility has been and remains a top priority for the company. Our aspiration is to leave the places we touch even better than when we first arrived. This is in the best interest of our guests, our company and the oceans upon which we travel. We look forward to clarifying any issues and demonstrating our commitment.”
Carnival Corp. and all its brands will be operating its normal cruise schedule in the meantime.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz has requested that Carnival Corp. executives, including its chairman Micky Arison, president Arnold Donald, and brand executives Christine Duffy, Stein Kruse, and others, attend the June 24 hearing.