35 



STATEMENT OF MR. ALVIN S. LEVETT 



The Honorable Bill Tauzin, 



Chairman, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Navigation 



Testimony to the Sub-Committee, May 11, 1993 



Good Morning, Mr. Chairman and ladies and gentlemen of the Sub-committee, I am 

 pleased to be invited here today to address you on this important issue. We hope that our 

 experience, and the videotape we took, may serve to "shine the light" on the illegal 

 practice of marine pollution and ultimately contribute to positive changes in the way that 

 business is conducted at sea. 



I will briefly outline the major events in the case and the actions we took over the past 18 

 months which ultimately led to criminal charges against Princess Cruise Lines. As you 

 will see, the videotape, while a critical element in the case, taken by itself, might not have 

 resulted in the case being successfully resolved. It took an active role, and determination 

 on our part, as well as encouragement from the Center for Marine Conservation, and the 

 efforts of the FBI and Justice Department to make the system work. 



On October 25th 1991, my wife and I witnessed and videotaped the disposal at sea, of 

 trash in plastic garbage bags. The incident took place off of the Regal Princess, 

 approximately 6 miles south of the Florida keys. Once on shore, we reported the 

 incident and submitted a copy of our videotape to the Coast Guard Marine Safety office in 

 Miami for review. 



We followed the progress of our complaint through regular and periodic calls to the 

 Marine Safety Office. I must tell you that I was irritated at the slow responsiveness and 

 the lack of progress that the Coast Guard made in investigating this well documented 

 incident 



