WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Princess Cruise Lines Ltd, a unit of Carnival Corp, was sentenced on Wednesday to pay $40 million for illegal dumping of oil contaminated waste and falsification of records to conceal the discharges, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.

The penalty, imposed by U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz in Miami, is the largest-ever for crimes involving deliberate vessel pollution, the statement said.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh)