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Carnival won’t repay Uncle Sam for disabled ship assistance

Sarah Hofmann Contributor
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Cruise giant Carnival says it has no plans to reimburse the U.S. government foe nearly $800,000 in costs from the rescue of cruise ship Triumph in February. The company cites “maritime tradition that holds that the duty to render assistance at sea to those in need is a universal obligation of the entire maritime community.”

Carnival also has never repaid, or made any motions to repay, the $3.4 million that was required to rescue the ship Splendor in 2010, reports the AP.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) called the company’s position “shameful,” and said, “These costs must ultimately be borne by federal taxpayers.”

Rockefeller also alleged that Carnival pays little to no federal income tax. Carnival countered, “Every state where our ships call or home port benefits from the dollars spent by cruise lines to buy products and retain services from local businesses.”

The Triumph became stranded on February 10,2013 after there was a small fire in the engine room. The passengers and employees were then stuck aboard the vessel for over four days while the electricity and plumbing did not work. Carnival also was the owner of the ship Concordia, which capsized off the coast of Italy in January 2012 and killed 32 people.

 

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