And the Department of the Environment is also active in the field. As we have reported, a vessel that ran aground on the Belize Barrier Reef System near Frank's Caye within the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve has been removed with, according to DOE, minimal environmental damage.
The vessel "Rhumb Bline" ran aground on March 19 after experiencing engine problems while traveling from Roatán to Livingston. A joint inspection by the Department and the Belize Port Authority found the vessel had grounded in a sandy area with its keel lodged between two rocks, resulting in minimal damage to the reef.
The vessel was removed on March 23 around 2:00 p.m., with impacts limited to a single colony of lettuce coral. We spoke with DOE Officer Kenrick Gordon who explained how a crane was able to remove the boat without damage.
Reporter:
"The removal using a Crane. How is it possible that you can use a Crane to remove it and there was no damage?"
Kenrick Gordon, Environmental Officer
"Well, what happened is, so beneath the vessel, every different grounding has different you meet different circumstances in this case? I could be, I can say that Mr. Perry had initially thought that his, vessel was was a gone right? When we spoke to him, he he stated that he took what was his valuable items off the vessel and gave it away because he thought that there is no way he would be able to recover the vessel."
"Right? He was crying and in a panic mode. We explained to him, we explained to him, let us go out and look and see what state the vessel is in. When we went there, we took a dive and do an assessment of the area. We said that the vessel has a keel, a keel right beneath the, the boat right.
And that keel keeps there the the vessel itself. afloat more or less. So basically it it just bounced on the sand on the sandy floor. And that was stuck between two routes. Right, right behind the vessel in this case was about I would say about 10 to 15ft deep. So that's where the Crane was able to go right up to the vessel."
"Well, the barge, the crane was on the barge. It went right up to the vessel and then stretches its arm, its boom. They put the strap beneath or underneath the vessel and then it it lifts the entire vessel right out the water and reversal. So he was very fortunate I would say because in other instances, sometimes, when these vessels go aground, they end up without a bottom."
The Department of the Environment says it is now finalizing its findings and determining the appropriate course of action.
