Damage to coral reef raises questions

Responsibility for damage to nearly 12,000 square feet of live coral by a cruise ship anchor and chain two weeks ago remains unclear. 

The Department of Environment is gathering evidence to determine whether a criminal case under the Marine Conservation Law can be undertaken, the department’s director said Monday. It is illegal to damage coral with an anchor or chain.  

“The Department of Environment cannot just issue a ticket for an offense under the Marine Conservation Law,” said Gina Ebanks-Petrie, director of the DoE. “We have to collect evidence, take statements and produce a case file to submit to the director of Public Prosecution for a decision on whether or not a criminal prosecution will be pursued.”  

The 1,000-foot Carnival Magic cruise ship was guided by Bodden Shipping Agency pilot boats to drop its anchor outside of the designated anchorage zone, in front of Don Foster’s Dive in George Town on Aug. 27, severely damaging the coral reef. 

Department of Environment divers’ underwater environmental impact assessment last week found that 11,840 square feet of the reef were damaged to varying degrees. 

“There were multiple species of coral there, all the usual reef building corals, including star corals, brain corals, gorgonians, the whole range,” said Ms. Ebanks-Petrie.  

“At this point, we have not been able to establish whether or not there is actually a culpable agency or person and whether the evidence and particulars of the case would be able to meet the legal tests for prosecution,” said Ms. Ebanks-Petrie.  

DoE officials plan to meet with other government agencies to discuss possible future safeguards. 

“We have requested a meeting with our ministry, the Port Authority, and the Ministry of Tourism so that we can all sit down and not only come to a decision to ensure this doesn’t happen again, but also to try and figure out what are the options in terms of any kind of compensation for what has happened,” said Ms. Ebanks-Petrie. 

The coral bed could take more than six decades to grow back, environment officials say.  

“I have dove that very same piece of wall five times in the last year … and once a few days after the incident, and it was heart breaking to see an area that was so beautiful with lots of huge coral formations of different species … reduced to unrecognizable rubble,” Jonathan Rivers, a frequent diver of the site, commented on the Cayman Compass website. “What makes it worse to me is that there could have been divers right where that anchor dropped that morning.”  

The Port Regulations (2011) stipulate four anchorage areas designated for ships entering the George Town port, meaning up to four cruise ships can anchor at any one time. If there are more than four cruise ships in port, the others remain on engines or dynamic positioning in the harbor.  

These designated areas do not contain any live coral. 

Cruise lines often hire a local shipping agent to help them adhere to harbor entry requirements. Once hired, the shipping agent is in charge of handling the vessel’s entry requirements and paperwork, as well as piloting the ship to the designated anchorage zones. 

When the Port Authority grants permission for a ship to anchor in a certain zone, it is up to the captain of the pilot boat to direct the cruise ship captain to the anchorage zone, either by radio call or in person on board the cruise ship.  

In this case, Carnival Cruise Lines hired Bodden Shipping Agency for these services.  

“When anchoring in Grand Cayman, we employ the services of a local harbor pilot to provide our captains with very specific instructions on where to drop the anchor. On both occasions [on] August 27 when Carnival Magic anchored off Grand Cayman, it was done so under the direction of a local pilot as well as the Port Authority …,” Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement last week.  

Bodden Shipping Agency declined to comment Monday. It is an offense under the Marine Conservation Law to damage coral by anchor or chains in Cayman waters. However, Department of Environment does not have authority to administer fines under the law, so each case must be brought for criminal prosecution through the courts.  

The situation is also difficult, DoE officials say, because the Port Authority is a government entity, so in theory the government would be trying to prosecute itself.  

The Port Authority does not offer piloting services to cruise ships, and at the moment there are no regulations or restrictions in place in the Port Authority Law to police pilot boats. 

DoE officials say the incidence of a cruise ship dropping its anchor and destroying coral reef is rare, but have been occasions when operators of vessels have been fined for such infractions under the Marine Conservation Law. In 2001, the captain of an 111-foot luxury yacht anchored along Seven Mile Beach without contacting the Port Authority and the yacht’s anchor damaged 1,400 square feet of coral.  

The captain was fined $150,000 under the Marine Conservation Law. In 2008, Scott Development Company Ltd. was fined $69,000 for anchoring a vessel in excess of 60 feet in a marine park without permission.