Cruise Control

Norwegian Cruise Line, the fourth-largest cruise company in the world, will pay a $1.5 million fine for illegally dumping oil and untreated wastewater into the ocean, and subsequently lying about its actions. The company kept a false logbook and for three years lied to the Coast Guard about unlawful discharges off the coast of Florida; it was caught when a fired employee blew the whistle to the U.S. EPA, but no one knows how much pollution the cruise line dumped into the ocean. The fine, which includes $500,000 for environmental projects in Florida, is part of a federal crackdown on ocean polluters and marks the seventh environmental conviction against a cruise line. Norwegian got off easy compared to some others; Royal Caribbean, for example, has paid a total of $27 million in fines. But hard times might not be over for the company; shortly after the fine was announced, the state of Alaska, which successfully sued Royal Caribbean, said it would investigate whether Norwegian committed illegal activity in state waters.