As Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. faces sentencing in Miami federal court for dumping oil and chemicals into several coastal areas, new allegations have surfaced that high-level officials were involved in the illegal dumping.
In a personal injury suit pending in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, a Royal Caribbean master mechanic alleges that he lost two fingers in April 1996 while trying to cut a hidden pipe aboard the cruise ship Majesty that was used to facilitate the illegal dumping. In a sworn deposition, Jozo Gverovic said the accident occurred when he was acting under the instructions of the ship’s first engineer. The mechanic testified that he routinely and covertly fixed pipes on Royal Caribbean ships, which enabled oil to be dumped overboard, and that he did so with the full knowledge of his superiors.
