Carnival informed the USCG on January 2 that the cruise ship Carnival Elation accidentally released 6,000 gallons of gray water into the harbor at Port Canaveral, Florida. The incident took place during routine deballasting at the pier.
Namely, local media cited a Carnival spokesperson saying that while the ship was offloading water from its ballast systems, a gray water valve was opened by mistake, discharging treated gray water for a short period. No sewage was offloaded.
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The spokesman also informed that the issue was quickly mitigated and resolved by shipboard personnel, while all appropriate authorities were notified.
There are no plans for cleanup, and the Carnival Elation left on schedule for its next journey.
To be reminded, Carnival Corporation is under a five-year court-supervised probation period due to oily waste discharges from ships operated by its Princess brand. As a result, in 2016 the company pleaded guilty to seven felony charges and paid a $40 million fine. What is more, in 2019 it reached a new agreement with prosecutors to pay an additional $20 million fine for allegedly breaching the probation.
