Who Will Be Charged for Damage to Reef?

The vessel is a catamaran that carries out tours within Belize. While it is a Belizean registered company, it is owned by a Colombian national, and the vessel is captained by a local Belizean. The estimated cost of the damage is yet to be determined and Kenrick Gordon says that both the captain and the company can be charged for the incident.

Kenrick Gordon, Environmental Officer, D.O.E.

“I wouldn’t want to get into the details because we are still conducting investigation in terms of the circumstances surrounding the incident and how we are going to proceed from here.”

Duane Moody

“Now the charges will be for the captain of the boat or the company itself?”

Kenrick Gordon

“Well in instances like this, under the environmental protection act, jurisdiction offense—if charges are going to be levied, but like I said, we are still conducting investigation—but we are possibly find both the captain, but we would more look at the company as the responsible party.”