The captain of a P&O cruiseship has been fined in France over a breach of fuel rules.
Evans Hoyt, 58, from the US, was convicted in Marseille of burning oil with 1.68% sulphur, 0.18% above the European limit, The Guardian reported.
A spot check had been made on the 115,000-gt Azura (built 2010) in March.
Hoyt was fined EUR 100,000 ($113,600) in the ruling, a first in France.
But the judge said P&O parent Carnival Corp should pay EUR 80,000 of this.
Hoyt knew the fuel was illegal, prosecutors claimed.
He faced up to a year in prison and a EUR 200,000 fine.
In court, his lawyers argued that European environment rules unfairly distinguished between cruiseships and cargoships, which have higher limits.
This meant a lack of "equality before the law", they claimed.
Defence lawyers also contended that the 1.5% limit did not apply to Azura as it was not a regular visitor to European ports. In this case, they argue the limit is 3.5%.
P&O Cruises told TradeWinds earlier this year: "We are committed to abiding by all applicable maritime standards and are confident that the current investigation will confirm this."
