DOE Damage Assessment at Glover’s Reef Completed

The assessment of damages caused to the reef by a Guatemalan vessel running aground last Wednesday has been completed. On Thursday, the preliminary dive was done by members of the Department of the Environment even before the sixty-five foot gunboat was removed. After it was pulled off its inadvertent dry dock by a tugboat sent from Puerto Barrios, divers were able to conduct a more comprehensive assessment, and even owing for delays cause by rough seas in the area, that report is completed. Today, C.E.O. in the Ministry of Forests, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, Adele Catzim-Sanchez, told News Five that she and her team will finalize the write-up of what they refer to as an Environmental Impact Assessment, after which they will immediately hand it over to the Ministries of National Security and Foreign Affairs. We note that a preliminary assessment late last week indicated that there was minimal damage at first sight, since the ship beached on the crest of the reef, and did not break the reef line. Still, the Foreign Ministry has indicated that it has issued Guatemalan officials with a notice that they will be liable, financially, for any, if any, damages caused.