But it wasn't in compliance, didn't have the best available technology, and that reality is completely different to the image that the company projected. Ian Urbina: Princess advertised itself as an environmentally compliant industry leader with the best available technology. Richard Udell: The idea that the biggest of them all, the richest of them all, is deliberately violating the entire maritime regime designed to protect the oceans, that's a big deal. You know, I think he was deeply pissed off about the extent and the willfulness of the crime here, the damage that it causes and that it involves a company that should know better. But when I talked with him about this case, it was immediately clear that this one really got under his skin. Ian Urbina: Udell has been at this for years. Richard Udell: My name is Richard Udell and I'm a federal prosecutor, and I specialize in environmental crimes. He is kind of the best and most known prosecutor of these sorts of magic pipe crimes, a guy named Richard Udell. Leading the investigation for the Department of Justice was a guy who had done this for decades. And so, to open up an investigation of any of their ships is a serious matter. It's got the best of the best lawyers and lobbyists and inroads on Capitol Hill. I mean, the Carnival company is a multibillion dollar company. There was a campaign of obstruction in an effort to hide the deliberate pollution of our seas with oily waste.īroadcaster #1: The charges against Carnival stemmed from illegal dumping of oil contaminated waste from the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, the U.S. Unknown Man: Our open seas are not dumping grounds for waste. flag ship, the British authorities got in touch with American authorities. Ian Urbina: First Chance Keys got, he handed over his footage and quietly contacted British authorities and told them what he'd witnessed. I spoke with him later and he said his first thought was, “This is ridiculous.” He was well-trained, and he knew this was a serious crime that he was witnessing. Ian Urbina: Keys knew that this was a big deal. And when no one else would be around later that evening, he came back with his cell phone and, and filmed it. He knew that what that magic pipe was doing was flushing toxic waste into the ocean. A guy like Keys knew what was at stake here. And then it dawned on him that this was a magic pipe. It was something that had been added to the normal architecture of the machines. Keys looked at where this weird jerry rig thing seemed to be running from and to, and quickly knew that this was not what it should be. And that stuff that disappears is the most toxic waste that the ship produced. ![]() It might only be six feet long, but it serves a key purpose, which is essentially to make stuff disappear. Often, it's just a hose that runs from one place to another. And he came across this thing that's called a magic pipe. So Keys was exploring a new section he hadn't been to in the engine room. And there were four dozen men who worked in the space. It's a three story maze of shiny metal pipes and whirring machines and glowing monitors and like a whole floor of a hotel. And it's important to realize just what these engine rooms look like on a ship this big. On his second outing on the ship, they were 23 miles from Southampton, England, and Keys was exploring the engine room. Ian Urbina: Chris Keys is this 28 year old Scotsman who landed the job of his life, starting as a low level engineer on the Caribbean Princess. Unknown Man: Are you going? Good (indistinct). I mean, the entire experience is designed to avoid passengers thinking about things like, you know, where does the trash go? Where does the sewage go? Where do those workers go when they're not catering to me? What keeps the illusion alive is hiding all the bad parts so that the passengers experience nothing but the sort of happy illusion. You know, it's this massive thing, which is one part Vegas hotel, one part amusement park. It has rooms for more than 3000 passengers and roughly a thousand crew. ![]() It's got an outdoor movie theater, 19 decks, mini golf course, a casino. Ian Urbina: Caribbean Princess is one of the largest passenger ships on the planet. Experience a new kind of Caribbean with Princess Cruises. Voice Over: Launched 2004, Caribbean Princess epitomizes style and grace.
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