Cruise line to pay record $18 million fine
July 21st, 1999
WASHINGTON - Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has agreed to pay a record
$18 million fine and plead guilty to 21 felony counts for dumping oil and
hazardous chemicals from its cruise ships and lying about it to the Coast
Guard, Attorney General Janet Reno said Wednesday. She said the cruise
ships used "secret bypass pipes" to dump waste oil and hazardous materials
overboard, often at night. The attorney general said the plea agreement, which
is to be presented for approval in federal courts in six cities, "should send a
message to the entire cruise ship industry that illegal dumping does not pay."


Oct 14, 98 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Royal Caribbean Cruises will pay $8
million in fines for dumping oil overboard and lying about it to
investigators, a judge ruled Wednesday. The company was also put on
probation for five years. Prosecutors said Royal Caribbean ships
pumped oily bilge water into the sea off the coast of Puerto Rico,
Florida, Alaska and Canada. The bilge is supposed to be sent to a
special holding tank in cruise ships by a special separator. The
company pleaded guilty to charges of tampering with oil sensors and
keeping false records of oil discharges related to this case.