Chertoff's Sweetheart Deal For Israeli-Owned Carnival Cruise Cruise Line

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, through a hastily arranged deal with Carnival Cruise Lines, $236 million from U.S. taxpayers will flow to a tax exempt Israeli-founded corporation registered in Panama. Before federal assistance even reached the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Carnival Cruise Lines had received a profitable deal to provide three ships to house evacuees from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The deal, reached on Sept. 2, 2005, will pay Carnival some $236 million for the use of 7,100 berths for six months.

This means that each berth will cost U.S. taxpayers $5,540 per month, or more than $184 per night. The cost per bed can actually be much higher because not all berths will be occupied for the entire 6-month period of the contract. The deal, arranged by the Military Sealift Command of the U.S. Navy at the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has raised questions in Congress about excessive profiteering by Carnival Corp., the parent corporation that owns Carnival Cruise Lines along with 11 other leading cruise brands, including: Cunard Line, P&O Cruises, Princess, and Holland America Line. Carnival Corp. operates a fleet of 79 ships. More...