The Department of the Environment (DOE) reports that they continue to work out settlements with the owners of the yacht Azteca, which dropped anchor on Belize’s Barrier Reef off San Pedro Town in April, and M/V Imagine and M/V Dreamer, catamarans registered to the U.S. Coast Guard which came loose from their buoy during a storm in mid-May and ran over some coral patches northeast of Ambergris Caye.
Meanwhile, the DOE has confirmed that a third vessel ran aground in the San Pedro area last week. According to Chief Environmental Officer Martin Alegria, their investigation has just begun because the incident was not initially reported to them.
According to Channel 5 News’ account of the incident, aired on Tuesday night, the 32-foot red and white vessel, no name given, belonging to the Sueno del Mar resort in Ambergris Caye, ran aground in the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve. Damage to the coral reef in the area was said to be minimal.
In the case of the Imagine and the Dreamer, a defective buoy was allegedly the cause of the damage reported there, Alegria told us today.
It is suspected that the buoy to which the vessels were tied was ripped apart in the storm, releasing the vessels to cause damage to coral patches in the area, although that damage was classified as minimal.
The captains of the vessels are in negotiations with DOE for a settlement, Alegria told us.
Azteca owner, Mexican television operator and billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, appears on the other hand to be playing “hard ball” with Belizean officials.
Alegria explained that Salinas, who was vacationing in Belize at the time of the accident, has paid an undisclosed sum of money toward the $800,000 fine he was charged for causing damage to the Reef; however, he wants to pay the remainder in terms of free airtime for Belize’s environmental and tourism organizations on his television station, TV Azteca.
According to Alegria, the exact split of money and airtime and other details are still being worked out.