Carnival Corporation has settled with federal prosecutors for environmental probation violations and will pay a $20 million fine.
Carnival admitted violating its probation responsibilities tied to a 2016 criminal conviction for dumping oily waste at sea and then covering it up.
It was initially fined $40 million in that case and put on probation for five years.
The probation mandated an Environmental Compliance Plan overseen by a court-appointed auditor.
"The company pleads guilty. We acknowledge the shortcomings. I am here today to formulate a plan to fix them," said CEO Arnold Donald, who was ordered to attend the hearing along with other executives.
As well as an admission it continued to dump waste in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and the Bahamas, Carnival also falsified compliance documents and prepped shipboard teams ahead of planned audits.
Carnival will now appoint a corporate compliance manager and chief compliance officer reporting directly to the CEO, enhance compliance training and revamp its environmental management system.
If the company misses certain deadlines it could be hit with fines of $1 million per day.
The settlement also requires Donald to personally accept responsibility for the shortcomings in a communication to all employees.
US District Judge Patricia Seitz had threatened to ban all Carnival Corp ships from docking at US ports, and clearly laid out what measures could be taken for any further violations.
It includes possible jail time and heavy fines for executives.
