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U.S. NEWS Thursday 9 January 2020

Carnival insists progress in curbing cruise ship pollution

MIAMI (AP) — Top Carni- much more can we be environmental problems ing food waste "digesters" improvements Carnival is
val Corp. executives told saying as a management are dumping "gray water" intended to prevent non- making toward environ-
a skeptical federal judge team that we're totally into sensitive waterways, food from getting mixed in mental compliance.
Wednesday that progress committed? I don't know discharge of plastic along and is increasing spending "I'm going to accept for
is being made to curb the how much more we could with food waste into the on ethics and compliance now that you are commit-
world's largest cruise line's do." water and changing a cor- by more than $18 million ted to the long term," the
chronic ocean pollution Carnival is halfway through porate culture that did not this year. judge said. "I don't think this
problems. five years' probation for previously place enough "What changed is going company wants to move
At one point in a hearing, violating environmental emphasis on compliance from a high priority to the this slowly."
Senior U.S. District Judge laws stemming from a 2016 with environmental laws. high priority," Carnival CEO Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich-
Patricia Seitz asked Carni- criminal case, paying a The company, which has Arnold Donald told the ard Udell said independent
val Chairman Micky Arison $40 million fine. The Miami- more than 100 ships across judge. "We're not saying audits show "a lot of prob-
directly whether he'd taken based cruise line admitted nine brands and more than we're done. We're not sat- lems on a lot of ships." But
any steps personally to im- last year that its ships had 120,000 employees, insists isfied. We know we have he also said Carnival de-
prove the environmental continued to pollute the it is making progress on all work to do." serves credit for the steps
compliance of the ships. oceans, a probation viola- fronts. In one recent court Seitz said that, for the next it has taken so far. "There is
"We're totally committed," tion which triggered an ad- filing, Carnival said it in- hearing set for April, there positive movement. We're
said Arison, who also owns ditional $20 million fine. tends to cut single-use plas- should be better ways to still saying Carnival is not
the NBA's Miami Heat. "How Among the most pressing tics in half by 2021, is test- specifically measure any there," Udell said.q