Carnival to Pay U.S. For Disabled Ships

Carnival Corp. says it will repay the U.S. government for the costs to taxpayers of dealing with disabling accidents to its Triumph and Splendor ships.

Carnival said in a statement Monday it will submit voluntary payments to the U.S. Treasury, but didn't specify an amount. The cruise line company also says it never refused any payment and that no U.S. agency had sought reimbursement.

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia raised the issue with Carnival after an engine room fire aboard the Triumph left passengers stranded in squalid conditions for five days in February. Rockefeller estimated the Coast Guard's costs at nearly $780,000 in that case.

Rockfeller said the January 2010 stranding of the Splendor cruise ship in the Pacific Ocean cost the Coast Guard and Navy $3.4 million.

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