What's the deal with millionaires and anchoring on the reef?

[Roatan Marine Park]

Following the thread last month titled "mindless destruction of the reef", the rich are at it again, this time the luxury pleasure yacht Drum Beat. View this link for more info regarding the vessel DRUMBEAT - Luxury sailing yacht charter boat - Dubois

This letter was sent to the owner who has informed us since that an enquiry is under way:

"On the evening of May 7th, the vessel DRUM Beat was viewed dropping anchor in West Bay, Roatan Honduras. West Bay is located within the Sandy Bay West End Marine Reserve, on the island of Roatan. Roatan is located within the Bay Islands with the whole region recognized as a National Marine Park by the Honduran Government. It is frowned upon and often illegal to use anchor on coral reefs throughout the world, and Roatan is no exception. Not only is it illegal, but also extremely damaging to the reefs, with huge swathes of coral destroyed by the anchor and chain.

At around 6pm on May 7th, numerous persons saw the luxury yacht, Drum Beat, draw close to West Bay and then anchor directly onto the reef. Fortunately there was a group of night snorkelers in the vicinity who were able to indicate the damaged area the following day to Marine Park representatives. On the morning of the 8th the vessel had already relocated to another point of the island, leaving behind a 4ft by 100ft path of damage. After speaking to witnesses and hotel owners in West Bay, I was able to track down the name of the vessel and contact details.

Last month our island was visited by a 300ft yacht which destroyed a huge area of reef, view http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bay-islands/280417-mindless-reef-destruction.html for more info, and we will no longer tolerate these travesties. Mindless reef destruction is occurring worldwide, yet the majority of damage is not from fishermen using pieces of rebar or concrete as anchors, but luxury multi million dollar pleasure cruisers dropping anchor and chain directly on the reef.

Please forward this email to any relevant parties to inform them that legal action has begun regarding this issue and that the captain should take responsibilities for his actions."

All we can do i wait and see. I will post a video of the damage regarding this vessel in the next few days

 

[Doc]

As it was in Cayman 1965

It has arrived on Roatan.

 

[Roatan Marine Park]

Check this link to view the destruction caused by the Super Yacht Mayan Queen IV last month
YouTube - Anchor damage in Roatan by super yacht - by Roatan Marine Park

 

[Ayisha]

Check this link to view the destruction caused by the Super Yacht Mayan Queen IV last month
YouTube - Anchor damage in Roatan by super yacht - by Roatan Marine Park

That is devastating to watch. Very well done.

Have there been any responses from the Mayan Queen camp yet? Both of those owners should be held accountable and should pay damages in the millions. I hope you are pursuing legal action against them.

 

[RTBDiver]

I hope you are pursuing legal action against them.

Who has the authority to take legal action? I have seen some single lobster divers pinched and harassed but a dozen of them in a year cannot cause this type of damage. Do the park folks and those they employ have any legal standing?

 

[mrlipis]

I was there on the evening of the 7th and saw this yacht anchored. Not only did they anchor there but then they got in their dinghy and were on their way to Infinity Bay for dinner and they rammed their dingy right into the reef. This was witnessed by a number of people. This also happened after they were warned by the staff at Infinity bay. Apparently their arrogance was dwarfed by stupidity. They finally found their way through the channel. If you are familiar with the dive sites, this would have been at Eel Garden, I think.
When I first saw this 150'+ ketch sailboat anchored, I asked someone, what the f*$# it was doing anchored there and I was told it was on a buoy. I thought, "that boat is way too big to be just anchored to one buoy." Now I wish I had been more proactive.
My question to the marine park,
How can a boat like this anchor in front of a 1000 eyes and nobody takes a trip out to the boat and investigates or anything. Does Roatan not have the equivalent of a coast guard. For crying out loud, what good is a protected marine park if it can be protected. Insanity!

 

[mrlipis]

For crying out loud, what good is a protected marine park if it can be protected. Insanity!
__________________

Can't be protected. Sorry, in my rage I can't even spell check.

 

[Roatan Marine Park]

Good questions from all but you must understand our organization is very small and has very little power to act. As an NGO we can’t proceed against anyone but what we do is file legal proceedings to the local and central governments, as well as international agencies such as the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide.
Roatan does not have a coast guard and it is up to our small organization to patrol the Park, maintain marine infrastructure, educate the kids about the coral reefs, push for a recycling program, be a watch dog for official entities, the list goes on. How mad do you think we get when we feel that our efforts are futile. We make reports of mangrove cuts, follow the legal procedures and nothing happens, the cutting continues.
We need your support. We are very under resourced so if you wish to be more pro active, please come to the office and offer your services. We can not afford to run patrols 24 hour a day, nor the logistical capacity, and rely heavily on people calling in. If we had received calls on the evening of the incident, we would have acted accoringly.
Thank you

 

[Roatan Marine Park]

For more details on what our organisation does, please visit our website and read the most recent newsletters

 

[Doc]

legal action has begun regarding this issue

What does that mean?
How does that work?
Who will pursue this?
What Agency has jurisdiction?