trigfunctions
Contributor
Note that this is about a grounding that happened 2 years ago, not the one that happened last month.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...un14,0,5864151.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Company to pay $3.2 million to repair reef off Fort Lauderdale damaged by freighter
By Scott Wyman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 14, 2006
The owners of a freighter that ran aground off Fort Lauderdale almost two years ago and damaged a large swath of reef are spending $3.2 million to repair it, according to terms of a settlement reached with environmental regulators Tuesday.
Divers have been removing rubble by hand and using cement to reattach broken pieces of coral to the reef in one of the largest restoration efforts undertaken in Broward County. The freighter Federal Pescadores had just left Port Everglades on the evening of Oct. 6, 2004, when it hit the reef and damaged about six acres of the environmentally sensitive habitat.
More than 500 pieces of coral, including several species of star coral and brain coral, were crushed or sheared off by the ship's impact. Rescue efforts also caused damage.
Environmentalists said the repair work paid for by Moon Bright Shipping Co. is a critical first step to allow the reef to begin healing. But they said decades would pass before the recovery is complete.
"This allows a fresh start, but it doesn't restore the reef," said Dick Dodge, dean of Nova Southeastern University's oceanographic center. "It restores the reef in the sense it takes away the loose rubble that can create more damage. The capacity is there to come back, but that can take a hundred years."
The Panamanian-flagged Federal Pescadores is one of 11 large vessels to run aground off Broward since 1994. The latest incident occurred last month, when the Norwegian cargo ship Spar Orion struck the reef after straying from its anchorage while waiting to enter port.
The settlement agreement between Moon Bright and state and local environmental regulators comprises $3 million for restoration work and a $200,000 fine that will be paid into a state environmental trust fund.
Eric Myers, director of biological resources at the county environmental protection department, said the restoration work is largely completed and that Moon Bright's bill is in line with those paid by other shippers who have damaged the reef.
County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs said the multimillion-dollar cost should be a signal to others to be more careful. The commission unanimously signed off on the settlement agreement, which has also been accepted by the state and the Army Corps of Engineers.
"It is a huge amount of money, and rightfully so, considering the amount of damage," Jacobs said. "To prevent it in the future, you have to give more of a punch than a pinch; otherwise, these companies just consider it to be part of the cost of doing business."
The reefs off southeast Florida are the only major coral reefs in the continental United States. Damage from the Federal Pescadores extended over an area running at least the 546-foot length of the vessel, with a width of as much as 200 feet.
Environmental regulators wanted about 200 tons of loose rubble removed because of the potential to damage the reef further during storms or heavy surf. Divers collected the material and placed it in baskets that were taken about two miles northeast of the accident site.
To repair the hard coral, Moon Bright agreed to a restoration technique that has been used in the Florida Keys as well as off California's Baja peninsula.
After the grounding, divers stored the coral in protected locations. They reattached the sheared coral heads to the reef using cement that can hold even during strong storms.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...un14,0,5864151.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Company to pay $3.2 million to repair reef off Fort Lauderdale damaged by freighter
By Scott Wyman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 14, 2006
The owners of a freighter that ran aground off Fort Lauderdale almost two years ago and damaged a large swath of reef are spending $3.2 million to repair it, according to terms of a settlement reached with environmental regulators Tuesday.
Divers have been removing rubble by hand and using cement to reattach broken pieces of coral to the reef in one of the largest restoration efforts undertaken in Broward County. The freighter Federal Pescadores had just left Port Everglades on the evening of Oct. 6, 2004, when it hit the reef and damaged about six acres of the environmentally sensitive habitat.
More than 500 pieces of coral, including several species of star coral and brain coral, were crushed or sheared off by the ship's impact. Rescue efforts also caused damage.
Environmentalists said the repair work paid for by Moon Bright Shipping Co. is a critical first step to allow the reef to begin healing. But they said decades would pass before the recovery is complete.
"This allows a fresh start, but it doesn't restore the reef," said Dick Dodge, dean of Nova Southeastern University's oceanographic center. "It restores the reef in the sense it takes away the loose rubble that can create more damage. The capacity is there to come back, but that can take a hundred years."
The Panamanian-flagged Federal Pescadores is one of 11 large vessels to run aground off Broward since 1994. The latest incident occurred last month, when the Norwegian cargo ship Spar Orion struck the reef after straying from its anchorage while waiting to enter port.
The settlement agreement between Moon Bright and state and local environmental regulators comprises $3 million for restoration work and a $200,000 fine that will be paid into a state environmental trust fund.
Eric Myers, director of biological resources at the county environmental protection department, said the restoration work is largely completed and that Moon Bright's bill is in line with those paid by other shippers who have damaged the reef.
County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs said the multimillion-dollar cost should be a signal to others to be more careful. The commission unanimously signed off on the settlement agreement, which has also been accepted by the state and the Army Corps of Engineers.
"It is a huge amount of money, and rightfully so, considering the amount of damage," Jacobs said. "To prevent it in the future, you have to give more of a punch than a pinch; otherwise, these companies just consider it to be part of the cost of doing business."
The reefs off southeast Florida are the only major coral reefs in the continental United States. Damage from the Federal Pescadores extended over an area running at least the 546-foot length of the vessel, with a width of as much as 200 feet.
Environmental regulators wanted about 200 tons of loose rubble removed because of the potential to damage the reef further during storms or heavy surf. Divers collected the material and placed it in baskets that were taken about two miles northeast of the accident site.
To repair the hard coral, Moon Bright agreed to a restoration technique that has been used in the Florida Keys as well as off California's Baja peninsula.
After the grounding, divers stored the coral in protected locations. They reattached the sheared coral heads to the reef using cement that can hold even during strong storms.
