A federal judge in Miami fined Princess Cruise Lines $40 million Wednesday for illegally dumping oil waste into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, and for falsifying records.
It is the largest such water pollution fine in U.S. history.
The Miami Herald newspaper says the British engineer who reported the dumping to the U.S. Coast Guard will get a $1 million reward.
According to the Herald, engineers aboard the Caribbean Princess in 2012 and 2013 were ordered to dump the oily water straight into the sea and avoid the ship's filtration system, in order to save money. It said the ship's two senior engineers falsified the vessel's records.
The British engineer recorded the dumping on a cellphone.
Four other Princess ships also were involved in the illegal dumping off the East Coast, and near Florida and Texas.
