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‘Compensation on the table’ in talks with cruise ships on anchorage reef destruction

by Sandy Deane
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The Government has begun “serious and stringent” talks with cruise ships that berthed off the west coast, seriously damaging coral reefs that are vital to the island’s coastal protection, fisheries, marine life and tourism, according to Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Kirk Humphrey.

“There is no compensation that is off the table,” said the minister in light of a report from University of the West Indies experts that revealed extensive destruction of the reefs.

Humphrey gave an assurance that Government will continue to engage cruise lines to help rebuild the damaged coral reefs.

A report prepared by the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) estimated that around 3.8 million square metres of coral reef were damaged between March and September 2020 while 28 ships were docked here during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the Coastal Zone Management Act, damaging coral reefs carries a fine of $300 per square metre. Based on the fines alone, the value of the destruction would amount to 1.14 billion dollars.

“In our consultations with the cruise lines, where they should go, they did not go there on their own, we were guided and we had no idea what this level of damage or this level of alleged damage to vessels and we have made a determination that this cannot happen going forward,” said the maritime affairs minister.

“There is no compensation that is off the table, when we have these conversations we will put forward a number of possibilities on the table, there is no compensation that is off the table. But you must be cautioned that you must not be seeking a dollar-for-dollar benefit. The wider economic benefits from being smart in this moment may be greater and therefore that is the balance that we have to bring to bear.”

Humphrey, speaking on Voice of Barbados radio’s Down to Brass Tacks insisted Government did not “play reckless” when it made a decision last year to allow cruise ships to anchor along the West Coast.

He said while the damage is regrettable no one could have predicted the level of impact.

“None of us neither Government nor Coastal Zone Management at the time would have been able to foresee the level of supposed damage,” the minister declared.

He explained that once Cabinet agreed to assist the cruise ships, the Coastal Zone Management Unit came up with a set of criteria to provide direction on where the vessels could drop anchor.

“It included looking at the proximity to the port and services being available to the ships, including the water depth and looking at what organisms were alive in that space,” Humphrey said. “We [are] obviously look at avoiding sensitive beach areas, that is one of the decisions that we made. We also looked … to make sure that these ships were not too close or interrupting anything we do at the Port.”

He added that Coast Guard reports have revealed that at no point were the ships ever found out of position.

The report entitled: Assessing anchoring impacts of cruise ships in Barbados during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 revealed that cruise ships led to 132 anchor drops taking place.

The majority of those anchor drops took place in the vicinity of Port St Charles in St Peter, while the others were recorded at the southern end of the West Coast, off the Bridgetown Port and Carlisle Bay.

The report maintained that the damage to the coral reefs far outweighed any benefits Barbados would have derived for allowing those ships to dock.

It said: “The cruise ships anchored on the southwest and west coasts of Barbados in relatively shallow water on sandy areas, hard coral patch reefs and hard coral reef framework. Damage to bank reef coral communities was visually confirmed as being extensive at several west coast locations such as Bright Ledge Reef, the Farm Reef and Horseshoe Reef. The potential area of habitat damage from all anchoring events was estimated to be in the region of millions of square metres.

“Given the recognised value of coral reefs as indicated by the stated fines in the Coastal Zone Management Act for damaging reefs, this equates to millions of dollars in actual damage and far exceeds any short-term financial gains from permitting visiting cruise ships to anchor for a nominal fee.”

Humphrey said once the ministry first received word of the damage last August, decisive action was taken to tackle the problem.

“We did not take long to [act].” he said. “Long before September, when they were informed of any damage they had started moving vessels. People had gone diving and said they saw damage to the reef, probably August-early September. We were having conversations with the cruise lines in relation to any potential damage.”

The maritime affairs minister revealed that since then a comprehensive plan has been in place to prevent a repeat of the problem.

Humphrey said: “We have decided specifically as it relates to damage caused by the cruise ships, we will not allow any vessels to anchor again on the west coast with that kind of size. The probability of us having to move so many ships around Barbados at the same time is unlikely, so those were unlikely circumstances.

“Ships also have what is called a dynamic positioning system which allows them for a shorter time to stay still without anchoring, if indeed they need to be in that space for a short time and they use that dynamic position system because they can stay it does not affect the reef. We have also made that determination.”

He also announced that while Carlisle Bay has been a traditional anchorage point for ships Government has decided it will review anchoring at Carlisle Bay on a case-by-case basis.

“We have also felt and agreed with the Coast Guard that we will have closer monitoring of marine traffic and daily checks to make sure that the vessels are where there are supposed to be, “he said.
(sandydeane@barbadostoday.bb)

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