News sources, including the Miami Herald, are reporting that a federal judge is threatening to temporarily block Carnival ships from docking at U.S. ports.
The Miami Herald is reporting, “Carnival has been on probation for the last two years as part of a $40 million settlement for illegally dumping oil into the ocean from its Princess Cruises ships for eight years and lying about the scheme to U.S. authorities. While on probation, according to court filings, Carnival Corp. and its subsidiary cruise lines have sought to avoid unfavorable findings by preparing ships in advance of court-ordered audits, falsified records, dumped plastic garbage into the ocean and illegally discharged gray water into Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. The company also has tried to lobby the U.S. Coast Guard through a back channel to change the terms of the settlement, prosecutors allege. The company has acknowledged these incidents.
In a statement issued following Wednesday’s hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz, Carnival Corp.’s Chief Communications Officer Roger Frizzell said, “It appears there were some mischaracterizations made by others to the court. We intend to fully address the issues raised at today’s court conference.”
Everyone can agree that our environment must be protected. I’ve read news stories about the large amount of plastics that are dumped into the ocean.
LiveScience.com and other media outlets recently reported on a whale in the Phillippines that died of consuming large amounts of plastics,
“A young Cuvier’s beaked whale washed up dead on a beach in Compostela Valley in the Philippines, its stomach filled with 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of plastic bags.
Workers from the D’Bone Collector Museum Inc. in Davao City in the Philippines recovered the whale — a male — on Saturday (March 16) and later performed a necropsy. They found its stomach was packed with plastic bags — 16 rice sacks, four banana-plantation-style bags and some shopping bags, according to a Facebook post from the museum.
His stomach “had the most plastic we have ever seen in a whale,” they wrote in the post. “It’s disgusting.” And it wasn’t just plastic bags: The museum said it plans to post a full list of all the plastic items found in the whale’s stomach in the next few days.”
Speaking as a grandfather to the @CruiseKid, it’s critical that we ensure we leave our planet in great shape for future generations. I know that the cruise lines will redouble their efforts to do so.
Click on the links below for stories referenced in this post:
https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article229069589.html
https://www.livescience.com/65020-whale-with-88-pounds-plastic.html
