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Coral Reef News

06 Mar 2024

Rubymar Sinking Puts Coral Reefs At Risk

(Photo: U.S. Central Command)

When the Rubymar sank in the Red Sea after a Houthi attack, the ship went down carrying 21,000-tonnes of fertiliser which could trigger massive algal blooms that could create "dead zones" for marine life and starve coral reefs of light.Alongside a slick of leaking fuel, the ammonium phosphate sulphate fertilisers could deliver an extreme pulse of nutrients into waters harbouring rare corals, marine mammals and reef fish, creating a spread of foamy scum on the water.According to a maritime warning circulated to ships in the area…

26 Dec 2023

Shipwrecks Teem with Underwater Life, from Microbes to Sharks

© Erik / Adobe Stock

Humans have sailed the world’s oceans for thousands of years, but they haven’t all reached port. Researchers estimate that there are some three million shipwrecks worldwide, resting in shallow rivers and bays, coastal waters and the deep ocean. Many sank during catastrophes – some during storms or after running aground, others in battle or collisions with other vessels.Shipwrecks like the RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania and USS Monitor conjure tales of human courage and sacrifice, sunken treasure and unsolved mysteries.

21 Mar 2023

Philippines Finds Sunken Fuel Tanker 3 Weeks after Spill

Credit: The Philippines Coast Guard

A leaking fuel tanker that sank off the central Philippines three weeks ago has been found using an underwater robot from Japan, a provincial governor said on Tuesday, as authorities sought more foreign help to address the oil spill.The discovery of MT Princess Empress, which was carrying about 800,000 liters (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil when it capsized on Feb. 28 and eventually sank, was deemed crucial in stopping the spill, which reached shorelines in three provinces.

06 Mar 2023

Philippines to Deploy Subsea ROV to Pinpoint Location of Stricken Tanker

Illustration only ©Victor Ivin/AdobeStock

Philippine authorities believe they have found the location of a tanker that sank off a central province last week, the environment ministry said on Monday, amid a race to assess the extent of an oil spill and contain further environmental damage.The tanker, the MT Princess Empress, is thought to be lying at about 1,200 feet (366 meters) below sea level, off Oriental Mindoro province, though the information still needed to be verified, the ministry said in a statement.A remotely operated vehicle would be deployed to help determine the exact location of the tanker…

13 Sep 2022

Jordan Detains Cargo Ship That Strayed Near Coral Reef

Jordan on Tuesday detained a cargo ship arriving from Egypt that was towed away after it strayed close to a natural coral reef reserve near the beach of the Red Sea port of Aqaba, port officials said.Any possible environmental damage caused by the drifting of the vessel, named Lotus, away from its route and into shallow waters near the 7-km-long marine reserve was being assessed, they said."Its route has been corrected and it has been towed to the pier and is safe," a port official told Reuters, adding that the ship was banned from leaving the port pending an investigation into why it strayed from its route and any damage caused.The cargo vessel had arrived earlier on Tuesday to load a shipment of potash from the city's fertilizer pier, an official said.The city of Aqaba's pristine coral r

28 Dec 2021

Wakashio Captain and First Officer Sentenced

(Photo: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio)

Two officers from a bulk carrier that ran aground and broke apart atop a coral reef off Mauritius have been sentenced for endangering safe navigation.Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, captain of the Japanese-owned Wakashio, and the ship's first officer Hitihanillage Subhoda Janendra Tilakaratna pleaded guilty under the 2007 Merchant shipping act by a court in Port Louis. The two men, having both been held since August 2020, were sentenced to 20 months in prison.Nandeshwar, who admitted to drinking alcohol during an onboard birthday party prior to the July 2020 grounding…

14 Jun 2021

Shipping Influx Infuriates Israeli Environmentalists

© evannovostro / Adobe Stock

The first cargo ships from Dubai that docked last year in the Mediterranean port of Haifa were met by celebration in Israel. Flags waved. Reporters gathered. The prime minister walked the pier and gave a speech about the fruits of making peace.There was zero fanfare, however, when oil tankers began arriving at the smaller Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea in an arrangement with Emirati partners. Rather than washing machines and cleaning supplies for consumers, the ships unloaded…

22 Mar 2021

Philippines Says 220 Chinese Militia Vessels Seen in Disputed Waters This Month

© Oleksii / Adobe Stock

The Philippines expressed concern about hundreds of Chinese military vessels it said were spotted this month in the disputed South China Sea, the latest example of tension in the crucial waterway.The Philippine Coast Guard reported that some 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen moored in line formation at a reef on March 7, a cross-government task force said late on Saturday.Foreign minister Teodoro Locsin, asked whether he would file a diplomatic protest over the ships’ presence, told a journalist on Twitter: “Only if the generals tell me.

08 Mar 2021

Chinese Fishing Vessel Runs Aground off Mauritius

© willyam / Adobe Stock

A Chinese-flagged fishing vessel with 16 crew members carrying 130 tonnes of oil has run aground off Mauritius, causing a minor spill, a minister said on Monday.“Nothing to be worried about,” Sudheer Maudhoo, whose Blue Economy Ministry looks after maritime affairs, told Reuters, saying 310 metres of floating booms were controlling the leak.Drone footage showed dark patches in the Indian Ocean waters near the Lu Rong Yuan Yu 588 after it ran aground on Sunday.The incident followed July’s accident of the MV Wakashio…

05 Mar 2021

Bulk Carrier Caught Dumping Garbage in Great Barrier Reef

A shipping company and chief officer have been convicted in Australia for dumping garbage near the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system.Following a prosecution by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), on February 26, 2021, the chief officer and operator of Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Iron Gate were fined and convicted in the Brisbane Magistrates Court for dumping the equivalent of a 120-liter household garbage bin full of food waste into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland.In 2018, Iron Gate was on a voyage between Brisbane and Gladstone when the chief officer approved the discharge of garbage overboard about 13 nautical miles southeast of Lady Elliot Island…

26 Jan 2021

Guam Shipyard Settles EPA Pollution Violations

(Photo: Corey Hensley / U.S. Navy)

Ship repair yard Guam Shipyard will pay nearly $70,000 and take measures to improve its facilities following multiple pollution violations discovered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2018.The EPA said on Tuesday its settlement with Guam Industrial Services, Inc., doing business as Guam Shipyard, includes a $68,388 penalty as well as mandatory installation of preventative measures to reduce the discharge of stormwater pollutants into Apra Harbor.Guam Shipyard operates a ship repair facility on Cabras Island in Piti…

21 Oct 2020

Coral Reef Health Report: Palau’s Coral Reefs - A Jewel of the Ocean

Photo: Copyright Keith Ellenbogen/iLCP

The latest report from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation finds Palau’s reefs had the highest coral cover observed on the Global Reef Expedition—the largest coral reef survey and mapping expedition in history.Scientists at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) have released their findings on the state of coral reefs in Palau. Their research, based on extensive underwater surveys, found Palau’s reefs had the highest live coral cover of all the reefs studied on the Global Reef Expedition…

11 Sep 2020

Sri Lanka Working to Stop Fuel Leak from Fire-hit Oil Tanker

Credit: Sri Lanka Navy

A salvage team is still trying to plug a fuel leak from the fire-stricken New Diamond oil supertanker, Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Indika de Silva said on Friday.The tanker, which is carrying the about 2 million barrels of oil, caught fire on Sept. 3 and is currently 45 nautical miles (83 km), off Sri Lanka's east coast.The fire has been extinguished but the New Diamond has left two long trails of fuel oil after the Navy towed it out to sea.Authorities want to avoid damage to the…

09 Sep 2020

List: Major Oil Spills from Ships

The Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, March 23, 1989 spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

The Sri Lankan navy said on Tuesday an oil slick had been spotted a kilometer from a loaded supertanker carrying roughly 2 million barrels of oil that has been engulfed in intermittent fires since an explosion on September 3.Oil from the engine room of the 20-year old New Diamond tanker “appears to have leaked out to the sea” following regular bouts of water-dousing by fire-fighting vessels, the navy spokesman said.The oil slick has raised concerns about the potential of further leakage from the cargo holds…

07 Sep 2020

Japan Says It Offered Mauritius "Unprecedented" Support Over Wakashio Incident

Wakashio - Image by ohrim/Adobestock

Japan has told Mauritius it would offer support on an "unprecedented scale", Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Monday, after a Japanese-owned ship struck a coral reef off the country's southeast coast in late July and spilled oil.Motegi was speaking to reporters after a phone call with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth."A sense of gratitude was expressed over our offer of support on an unprecedented scale, including financial support," Motegi told reporters.Jugnauth said during the phone call that he did not believe Japan was responsible for the accident…

01 Sep 2020

Two Mauritians Killed in Collision Near Site of Japanese Ship Oil Spill

Wakashio (file photo) - Credit: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio

Two crew members from a tugboat involved in cleaning up an oil spill off Mauritius were killed late on Monday when their vessel collided with a barge in bad weather, a local lawmaker said.Four other members of the crew were rescued by helicopter and two were still missing, Mahend Gungerpersad, a member of parliament for the opposition Labour Party, told Reuters on Tuesday."This incident is going to add to the prevailing anger," he said, referring to weekend protests over the handling…

27 Aug 2020

More Than 20 Dead Dolphins Found on Mauritius Beach Near Oil Spill

For Illustration Only - Image by Bernard Beaussier/AdobeStock

Seven more dead dolphins were found on a Mauritius beach on Thursday, a government official said, a day after 17 carcasses were washed up near an oil spill caused by a Japanese ship that struck a coral reef."We found seven more dolphins this morning in a state of decomposition," Jasvin Sok Appadu from the fisheries ministry told Reuters.Results from an autopsy conducted on the 17 dolphins found on Wednesday are expected on Thursday.The spill came from the Japanese-owned MV Wakashio, which ran aground on July 25 and began to spill oil about a week later.

24 Aug 2020

Wakashio Bow Section Scuttled off Mauritius

(Photo: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio)

The bow section of the stricken bulk carrier Wakashio has been scuttled Monday after the Japanese-owned bulk carrier ran aground, spilled oil and broke apart atop a coral reef off Mauritius.Scuttling efforts commenced last week but progressed slowly due to rough sea conditions, authorities said. The front section of the ship is no longer visible as of 3:30 p.m. local time on Monday after salvors cut holes into the bulkheads of several cargo hatches to accelerate the sinking process…

21 Aug 2020

Mauritius Begins Wakashio Scuttling Operations

(Photo: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio)

Mauritius said on Thursday it had started to scuttle the Japanese-owned bulk carrier that ran aground off its shores and spilled oil over pristine waters and fragile coral reefs. The MV Wakashio hit a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on July 25 and began spilling oil on August 6, prompting the government to announce a state of environmental emergency.Two of the ship's officers were arrested on Tuesday on charges of endangering safe navigation.The government's National Crisis Committee said in a statement the exercise had started at around 1200 GMT."The ...

21 Aug 2020

Wakashio Bulk Carrier Deviated from Shipping Lane before Mauritius Impact

Image Credit: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio

The Japanese-owned bulk carrier that ran aground off Mauritius and spilled oil over pristine waters and fragile coral reefs diverted more than 100 kilometers from a regular shipping lane, data from a maritime analysis firm showed.The MV Wakashio, owned by Nagashiki Shipping and chartered by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, struck a coral reef on Mauritius's southeast coast on July 25 and later began leaking oil. Two of the ship's officers have since been arrested on charges of endangering…

19 Aug 2020

Mauritius to Scuttle Stricken Bulk Carrier Wakashio

(Photo: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio)

Mauritius said on Wednesday it planned to scuttle the Japanese-owned bulk carrier that ran aground off its shores and spilled oil over pristine waters and fragile coral reefs.Earlier on Wednesday Nagashiki Shipping, owner of the MV Wakashio, apologized for the incident. Two of the ship's officers were arrested overnight on charges of endangering safe navigation.The MV Wakashio struck a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on July 25 and began spilling oil on August 6, prompting…

19 Aug 2020

Wakashio Spill Highlights Importance of Adopting Latest International Legal Instruments

(Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)

The ongoing oil pollution incident from the grounded 203,000 DWT bulk carrier MV Wakashio is threatening an ecological catastrophe around the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, endangering corals, fish and other marine life already under threat from climate change (IPCC 2018).In addition, it risks bringing devastating consequences for the economy, food security, health and tourism industry. Tourism in Mauritius - a popular destination for its pristine beaches - reportedly contributed about $1.6 billion to its economy during the last year…

19 Aug 2020

Wakashio Owner Apologizes, Says it Supports Crew after Arrests over Mauritius Oil Spill

Image credit: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio

Japan's Nagashiki Shipping, the owner of a bulk carrier that ran aground in Mauritius, causing an oil spill in one of the world's most pristine environments, said Wednesday it awaited judicial decisions after two of the ship's officers were arrested.Nagashiki issued a statement on Wednesday after the arrest overnight in Mauritius of the captain and of the bulk carrier, MV Wakashio, and another of the ship's officers on charges of endangering safe navigation. It did not provide…

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