Ruling keeps Carnival’s Dec. 1 cruise plan on track
Carnival Corporation is still on track to resume cruises in the U.S. on Dec. 1 after a favorable ruling from a federal judge Wednesday.
The company, on probation since 2017 after pleading guilty to dumping oil into the ocean for several years, will have to attest to the environmental protection status of each of its cruise ships 30 days before they reenter U.S. waters to restart cruises, according to the order from U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida Patricia Seitz.
Carnival Corp. fended of a stricter order proposed by the judge at a hearing on Friday that would have required ships to get her approval 60 days before reentering U.S. waters — which would have essentially derailed its plans to restart cruises from PortMiami and Port Canaveral on Dec. 1.
For ships returning to U.S. waters before Dec. 31, the company can file its certification up to seven days after returning, Wednesday’s order said.
In June, Carnival Corp. removed all of its ships from U.S. waters, partly due to a disagreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about how to best mitigate COVID-19 spread on board. The CDC banned cruises in midMarch amid COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise ships, and the current ban remains in effect until Oct. 31.
Now, as the company brings ships back, CEO Arnold Donald will have to notify the court of the status of each ship’s pollution prevention equipment, spare parts, staffing, voyage planning software, and vetting of shore-side waste vendors, creating an extra hurdle for Carnival Corp. ships to resume cruises. If any of the items are incomplete, Donald will have to provide a plan and timeline for addressing the issue.
At a hearing last week, Seitz said those five items had been consistent problems for the company over its three years of probation, causing multiple violations of national and international environmental laws. Based on the company’s certification of the status of these items, Seitz said she would determine whether the ships could reenter U.S. waters or not. Wednesday’s order does not require the company to get her approval, but says she can order further review if necessary.
Roger Frizzell, a spokesperson for the company, said via email: “We continue to make strong progress on our efforts tied to compliance and environmental protection.”