Cruise ship caused massive coral death in Indonesia

Cruise ship caused massive coral death in Indonesia

JAKARTA - Indonesia says nearly 19,000 square metres of pristine coral reef was damaged by a foreign cruise ship when it ran aground in waters off West Papua province earlier this month.

The extent of the damage was announced by the deputy maritime affairs minister following a survey of the Raja Ampat reefs. It was worse than initially thought.

The British-owned cruise ship Caledonian Sky hit coral reefs at Crossover Reef, voted among the best diving spots in the world, on March 4.

The 90-metre-long ship ran aground at low tide after bird watching on Waigeo island. It was on a 16-day trip from Papua New Guinea to the Philippines

Arif Havas Oegroseno, the deputy minister at the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs, said the joint assessment by a national survey team and insurers found nearly 13,300 square metres of damage that was fatal to the coral.

Another 5,600 square metres sustained lesser damage from shock waves of sand and broken coral sent out by the ship's maneuvers, but there was a 50% chance of it dying.


Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT