FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        ENR
MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1994                                           (202) 514-2007
                                                                                

                      NOTICE TO EDITORS AND CORRESPONDENTS


     The owners of the passenger cruise ship Viking Princess are scheduled
to appear in federal court in Miami, Florida, at 10 a.m. Tuesday, August
30, to be sentenced for dumping waste oil as close as three-and-a-half
miles off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida.

     The owners, who pleaded guilty June 3, 1994, have agreed to pay a
half-million dollar fine and to establish a court supervised environmental
compliance program, which includes participation of an independent
environmental expert.  U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Marcus, however,
is not bound by that agreement.

     This is the first criminal case brought under the Oil Pollution Act of
1990, which was enacted after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.   

     The Viking Princess was caught in a pro-active multi-agency effort
known as Operation Overboard which included special sensors aboard Coast
Guard jets and Coast Guard vessels manned by the Environmental Protection
Agency and the FBI.  During Operation Overboard, a Coast Guard jet filmed
the Viking Princess discharging a 2.5 mile oil slick approximately 3.5
miles off the coast of Palm Beach.   

     At Tuesday's hearing, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney for
the Southern District of Florida expect to describe new information
including related misconduct involving the Viking Princess.  

     The Viking Princess is a Panamanian-flag passenger cruise ship in
excess of 6,420 tons.  It is owned and operated by Palm Beach Cruises, S.A.

     United States law prohibits unlawful oil discharges within twelve
miles of U.S. shores.  Oil can cause damage to the marine environment.  

     Aerial videotape of incidents involving the Viking Princess will be
available.  

     Press organizations wishing more information or copies of court
documents should contact Theresa Corbin in the U.S. Attorney's office in
Miami, Florida, at (305) 536-5242 or Joe Krovisky at (202) 616-2765. 

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