Carnival Agrees to Pay $20 Million Pollution Settlement

The Carnival Corporation & plc agreed to pay a $20 million penalty as part of a settlement with federal prosecutors after it was discovered the largest cruise line was still polluting waters around the world.

According to The Miami Herald, Carnival CEO Arnold Donald plead guilty Monday on behalf of the company to “six probation violations related to illegal discharging of waste water, plastics and other harmful material.”

A federal judge in Miami approved the settlement and penalty, as well as coming to an agreement with the cruise line on necessary steps to improve compliance with environmental laws.

Carnival was placed on probation in 2016 after the company was convicted of discharging oily wastes from its Princess Cruise Lines ships. In that case, Carnival was also fined $40 million and eight different vessels were subjected to an environmental-monitoring program for five years.

In total, Carnival operates nine cruise brands and 105 ships worldwide.

The 2016 case was the third time in 18 years that Carnival had been convicted of such a crime and accused of covering it up.