Westerhaven removed from reef and arrested
On Friday we reported that the government of Belize would be suing the owners of the cargo ship that ran aground on the barrier reef about fifteen miles north east of Dangriga on January Thirteenth. The figure is approximately fifteen million US dollars, we say approximately because the Department of Environment will make its final assessment of the damages to the reef tomorrow. Ports Commissioner Major Lloyd Jones was at the site of the accident over the weekend with a marshal of the Supreme Court to place the ship under arrest.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
It has been almost a week since the Westerhaven coasted into a substantial portion of the barrier reef. The Ports Commissioner plotted five miles of open sea on his map and the route that the ship took to show that the accident could have been avoided. Arriving at a conclusion of negligence on Friday, Major Jones on Sunday, served the claim form upon the ship to the Captain of the vessel and the owner’s representative as soon as the ship was dislodged from the reef on Sunday.
Major Lloyd Jones, Ports Commissioner, B.P.A.
“On Saturday night the salvage master emailed me the salvage plan which was then approved for the work to commence on Sunday. The concern was that ideally we had asked them to wait until Monday but after they did their assessment, they came back to say “Look, we are concerned about the stresses that are on the hull and if we don’t move to move her quickly, that we fear that we might perhaps suffer some structural damage.” And so weighing all those factors, we decided that it was ok then for them to proceed as soon as possible to remove the vessel. They used a tug to hold her on the stern and then they de-ballast. They pumped out all the water that was in her ballast tanks and she became lively and with about half power the tug was able to get her off relatively easy I would say. After she was re-floated we boarded and placed her officially under arrest.”
Since the weekend’s arrest of the Westerhaven, Melanie McField, a marine scientist has been officially brought on board to help the Department of Environment. She and a team of divers have been inspecting damaged areas of the reef.
Melanie McField, Marine Scientist
“What we focused on today was looking at the coral reef on either side of the damage zone to get an idea of what the amount of live coral covered on adjacent areas. So this is probably what was the condition of the reef before the ship ran into it. We also checked out some of the areas like around the bow of the ship; one particular area that had really nice live coral under the bow and it seems like that’s still in tact so it looks like they didn’t hit that part when they moved the ship off. Otherwise it’s hard to tell; we can’t tell exactly if there is any new damage from moving the ship off. It’s really nothing visible to me after the quick swim I did on Wednesday and looking again today. The guys also took measurements with the G.P.S. around the perimeter of the damage. So we’ll have yet another assessment of the area that is impacted. But it seems pretty much in line with what we’ve seen with the initial quick assessment which is the whole field of damage is completely leveled in the impact zone; very fine rubble, pieces like this; pulverized. So there is very little to salvage but there is still large corals on the side, big broken pieces, just turned over. So we want to get a response team out here tomorrow and start trying to right some of the pieces of coral, turn them upright and glue them back down on the reef with cement. That can be done and we’ll start trying to do that tomorrow.”
But the tale of the Westerhaven did not end with its arrest; it was taken four miles to Anchorage to be held for repairs and under guard by the Belize Coastguard.
Major Lloyd Jones
“She was brought in and placed under anchorage and the Coastguard has been asked to assist us in ensuring she remains there. Currently, it is my understanding they are consulting with their attorney’s deciding how they want to proceed with our claim. There were some surveyors who came in on the owner’s behalf to look at the vessel and determine the extent of the damage to the vessel. They have our approval to conduct dive operations and whatever repairs are necessary. After they have done their survey, they will decide then if the ship is seaworthy enough to proceed under her own power or if she would have to be towed. That is of course that is of course when the arrest has been lifted.”
Melanie McField
“We should try to handle it the way that it’s normally done, you confiscate and keep the stuff until they pay the fine. That’s the most important thing. We have a lot of need in marine conservation. And I think the government has a lot of need for revenue and we need to make sure we get this money that’s owed. Can’t replace what happened. At least we can use it for something related to try to put back some good into the reef somewhere else.”
If the fifteen million U.S. dollars can be put into the government coffers, then perhaps some of it can be used to protect the environment if not only to pay some of the country’s debt. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
The suit brought against the Westerhaven was filed on behalf of the Attorney General, which means that any monies recovered will go back into the government treasury and not necessarily towards any environmental initiative to protect the reef. Major Jones believes that the ship owners will move to deal with the matter swiftly since the cargo is also held in custody. The Westerhaven has been docked in Anchorage about four miles from the port, where it will sit until the dispute has been settled.
