ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Princess Cruise Lines has agreed to pay a large fine after one of its ships was accused of striking and killing a humpback whale near Glacier Bay in southeast Alaska.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, Princess is expected to pay $755,000 in fines and restitution. A court date to finalize a plea agreement is set for Monday in U.S. District Court in Anchorage. Princess is expected to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor of “failing to operate at a slow, safe speed while near humpback whales.”

Under a plea agreement yet to be filed, the company would pay a $200,000 fine to the government and $550,000 in “community service restitution” to the National Park Service Foundation, court papers say. That money would go to an account for Glacier Bay National Park.

A Princess spokeswoman, Julie Benson, confirmed that the company plans to enter the plea agreement.

John Quinley, an Alaska spokesman for the National Park Service, said Justice Department attorneys have told Park Service officials not to discuss the case at least until next week.

The body of a 45-foot humpback was found floating near the mouth of Glacier Bay in mid-July 2001. A necropsy conducted at the time showed the animal died of massive skull fractures.

A Princess vessel, the Dawn Princess, had been operating near two humpback whales a few days before, according to the court papers and news reports at the time.

Source: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com