Princess Cruises Agrees to Pay Fine for Death of Whale in Glacier Bay

Princess Cruises has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of not operating the Dawn Princess at a slow and safe manner near Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park stemming from a 2001 incident where a humpback whale was later found dead.

While Princess agreed to pay $750,000 relating to the incident –a fine of $200,000 and an extra $550,000 in community service to the National Park Foundation, the cruise line has not admitted that it had, in fact, hit the whale.

Princess said that the community service funds would be specifically dedicated to the Glacier Bay National Park conservation efforts.

The company pointed out that after the incident it put into place clear guidelines for all its vessels on how to operate in the vicinity of whales and instituted speed restrictions in the Icy Straits area, which it has followed since 2001.