FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENR

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1998 (202) 514-2008

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

CRUISE LINE SENTENCED FOR FLEET-WIDE CONSPIRACY

OF DUMPING OIL AND LYING TO THE COAST GUARD

$8 Million Criminal Fine for case in Puerto Rico

Washington, DC -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ("RCCL"), the world's second largest passenger cruise line, was sentenced today to an $8 million criminal fine for dumping oil and lying to the U.S. Coast Guard, announced Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources, and Guillermo Gil, U.S. Attorney for Puerto Rico. RCCL also faces five years of probation, when its conduct will be monitored closely.

"Royal Carribean's crimes, including dumping oil into our oceans, lying about it and trying to cover it up by obstructing justice are serious offenses that require serious punishment," said Attorney General Lois J. Schiffer.

The sentencing in San Juan, Puerto Rico was for the second phase of an investigation that began in 1994 and that uncovered an array of environmental crimes related to RCCL's fleet-wide conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge Perez-Gimenez ordered RCCL to pay a $8 million criminal fine as part of a plea agreement in which the company pled guilty for charges of conspiracy, dumping oil, false statements and obstruction of justice.

During the sentencing hearing the government introduced video tapes showing three Royal Caribbean cruise ships dumping oil, as well as a "before and after" video showing the destruction of a secret bypass pipe used to make discharges aboard the Sovereign of the Seas. The "before and after" video was taken during Coast Guard boardings on October 25, 1994, in San Juan after the ship had been observed by a Coast Guard aircraft dumping oil, and during a follow-up boarding on October 29, 1994, in Miami, Florida. RCCL has admitted that it engaged in the crime of obstruction of justice by destroying a bypass pipe, which was cut up in small pieces and placed in a dumpster in Miami, in order to prevent its discovery by the Coast Guard.

"This case should send a message to those who own and operate ships that they cannot dump oil in our waters and make false statements to our government with impunity. These acts are serious crimes that will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said U.S. Attorney Gil.

In papers filed in Court the government also disclosed that in July 1998, after RCCL agreed to plead guilty in San Juan and Miami, new violations involving tampering with oil limiting sensors and false statements in the Oil Record Book occurred aboard RCCL's Nordic Empress cruise ship at the direction of the Chief Engineer.

"Those who use the seas to make a living must not use them as a dumping ground. This case gives fair warning to cruise lines and other corporations which seek to maximize profits by illegally discharging wastes at sea that the United States government will vigorously investigate and prosecute such illicit actions," said Steven A. Herman, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

RCCL will be on probation for five years, during which the conduct of the company will be closely monitored, with periodic reports to the Court and the government detailing the company's environmental compliance and including the results of independent audits.

Under the plea agreement RCCL has agreed to pay an additional $1 million for environmental projects in the territorial sea of Puerto Rico and South Florida. In a separate case in Miami, RCCL was sentenced on September 16, 1998, by U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to a $1 million criminal fine for presenting a false Oil Record Book for the Nordic Empress cruise ship to Coast Guard pollution investigators who had spotted the ship leaving a 7 mile long oil slick off the coast of Florida. When the Coast Guard boarded the ship to investigate, it was presented with a false log designed to conceal the discharges. RCCL was also sentenced to a related offense for lying to the Coast Guard.

"The Coast Guard relies on a combination of prevention, enforcement and response to carry out its environmental protection mission. Vigorous prosecution of flagrant violators is essential to ensure full compliance with the law," said Rear Admiral Norman Saunders, Commander of the 7^th Coast Guard District which includes Puerto Rico and Florida.

"Environmental crimes continue to be a top priority of the FBI, and we will aggressively pursue polluters," said Thomas Pickard, Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Such actions endanger the public safety, as well as our environment. Today's sentencing puts violators on notice that ocean dumping will not be tolerated."

Due to the extensive nature of the crimes involved, the investigation required the collective resources and efforts of several law enforcement agencies to bring these cases to a successful conclusion: the U.S. Coast Guard, including the Marine Safety Offices in San Juan and Miami, the Criminal Investigative Service, and Marine Safety Laboratory, and the Coast Guard's Office of Chief Counsel and 7^th District Legal Office in Miami, Florida, the FBI, the EPA Criminal Investigative Division, the FBI Special Projects Unit, the Military Sealift Command and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

The government's investigation is continuing.

For a copy of the videotape, please call 202-514-2008.

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