Coral Reef News

Egyptian authorities are scrambling to salvage the VSG Glory, a cargo ship that began sinking on Monday near the coral reefs off Quseir in the Red Sea Governorate after being stranded for 10 days, maritime sources told Reuters.The vessel, carrying 21 crew, 4,000 metric tons of bran, 70 tons of fuel oil and 50 tons of diesel, sustained a 60-centimeter (23.6 inch) hull breach, allowing seawater to flood its engine room. Its crew has since been rescued.Efforts to stabilize the ship have been hampered by deteriorating weather, causing the vessel to tilt further.

Three years after bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off Mauritius, spilling 1000 tons of a new type of marine fuel oil, Curtin University-led research has confirmed the oil is still present in an environmentally sensitive mangrove forest close to Ramsar conservation sites.Lead researcher Dr. Alan Scarlett, from Curtin’s WA Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Center in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the chemical ‘fingerprint’ of the oil found in…

Annapolis, Md. boatbuilder Ocean Craft Marine has delivered a pair of highly customized 9.5-meter dive/research boats to the ʻĀkoʻakoʻa Reef Restoration Program on the Big Island of Hawaii. ʻĀkoʻakoʻa is an inter-agency partnership integrating federal, state, university, and community organizations spanning science, education, management and law enforcement support elements.The specialized Dive Boats will serve as crucial tools in supporting the program’s mission to protect and rejuvenate West Hawaii’s coral reef ecosystems through scientific…

China released on Friday its first survey report of the South China Sea's disputed Sabina Shoal, saying there was no scientific or factual basis for reef damage claims made by the Philippines.In the report by the natural resource ministry conducted from May to July, it found that key habitat index values in the reef area were within the suitable growth range of the coral reef system."As for the claim concocted by the Philippines that China's artificial accumulation of coral debris at Xianbin Reef has caused a large number of coral bleaching and death in the region…

Salvors are sending a crane barge to lift a yacht that ran aground on a coral reef just off Puerto Rico's Flamenco Beach.The 72-foot sailing catamaran Obsession was reportedly traveling with four people on board from Puerto Rico to the British Virgin Islands when it struck a reef during a stop in Culebra on July 21. No injuries were reported.To remove the vessel, salvage and marine services contractor Resolve Marine has deployed its 400-ton shear-leg barge. The 164-foot-long, 54-foot-wide barge is being towed by tugboat from Baltimore and is expected to arrive to Culebra…

China said on Monday "illegal" beaching of Philippine warships at the Nansha islands in the South China Sea had "gravely damaged" the coral reef ecosystem in the area, as both countries tussle over disputed territory at atolls in the vast waterway.China's Ministry of Natural Resources, in a comprehensive report, said Philippine warships have been "illegally beached" around Second Thomas Shoal near Nansha Islands for a long time, "and it has seriously damaged the diversity, stability…

Israel plans to allow more oil tankers to dock at a Red Sea port in Eilat despite environmental risks, as it strives to maintain energy security amid conflict on multiple fronts, according to Israeli officials and government documents.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office wants to revoke restrictions on the amount of oil that can be unloaded at a jetty in the city, which sits in the middle of a string of resorts and beaches and is adjacent to a fragile coral reef.The curbs…

A newly unveiled concept for a sail-powered catamaran cruise ship aims to offer a luxury cruising experience on board a vessel that can travel emissions free.The unique vessel design--codenamed "Seabreeze"--comes from Norway-based YSA Design, who engineered the 104.5-meter-long ship to feature four 50-meter-high foldable sails mounted on 6-meter-high bases on deck for emissions-free propulsion.“Sustainability is critical but cruise shipping also needs to continuously reinvent itself,” said Trond Sigurdsen, Senior Architect and Partner, YSA Design.

When the Rubymar sank in the Red Sea after a Houthi attack, the ship went down carrying 21,000-tonnes of fertiliser which could trigger massive algal blooms that could create "dead zones" for marine life and starve coral reefs of light.Alongside a slick of leaking fuel, the ammonium phosphate sulphate fertilisers could deliver an extreme pulse of nutrients into waters harbouring rare corals, marine mammals and reef fish, creating a spread of foamy scum on the water.According to a maritime warning circulated to ships in the area…

Humans have sailed the world’s oceans for thousands of years, but they haven’t all reached port. Researchers estimate that there are some three million shipwrecks worldwide, resting in shallow rivers and bays, coastal waters and the deep ocean. Many sank during catastrophes – some during storms or after running aground, others in battle or collisions with other vessels.Shipwrecks like the RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania and USS Monitor conjure tales of human courage and sacrifice, sunken treasure and unsolved mysteries.

A leaking fuel tanker that sank off the central Philippines three weeks ago has been found using an underwater robot from Japan, a provincial governor said on Tuesday, as authorities sought more foreign help to address the oil spill.The discovery of MT Princess Empress, which was carrying about 800,000 liters (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil when it capsized on Feb. 28 and eventually sank, was deemed crucial in stopping the spill, which reached shorelines in three provinces.

Philippine authorities believe they have found the location of a tanker that sank off a central province last week, the environment ministry said on Monday, amid a race to assess the extent of an oil spill and contain further environmental damage.The tanker, the MT Princess Empress, is thought to be lying at about 1,200 feet (366 meters) below sea level, off Oriental Mindoro province, though the information still needed to be verified, the ministry said in a statement.A remotely operated vehicle would be deployed to help determine the exact location of the tanker…

Jordan on Tuesday detained a cargo ship arriving from Egypt that was towed away after it strayed close to a natural coral reef reserve near the beach of the Red Sea port of Aqaba, port officials said.Any possible environmental damage caused by the drifting of the vessel, named Lotus, away from its route and into shallow waters near the 7-km-long marine reserve was being assessed, they said."Its route has been corrected and it has been towed to the pier and is safe," a port official told Reuters, adding that the ship was banned from leaving the port pending an investigation into why it strayed from its route and any damage caused.The cargo vessel had arrived earlier on Tuesday to load a shipment of potash from the city's fertilizer pier, an official said.The city of Aqaba's pristine coral r

Two officers from a bulk carrier that ran aground and broke apart atop a coral reef off Mauritius have been sentenced for endangering safe navigation.Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, captain of the Japanese-owned Wakashio, and the ship's first officer Hitihanillage Subhoda Janendra Tilakaratna pleaded guilty under the 2007 Merchant shipping act by a court in Port Louis. The two men, having both been held since August 2020, were sentenced to 20 months in prison.Nandeshwar, who admitted to drinking alcohol during an onboard birthday party prior to the July 2020 grounding…

The first cargo ships from Dubai that docked last year in the Mediterranean port of Haifa were met by celebration in Israel. Flags waved. Reporters gathered. The prime minister walked the pier and gave a speech about the fruits of making peace.There was zero fanfare, however, when oil tankers began arriving at the smaller Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea in an arrangement with Emirati partners. Rather than washing machines and cleaning supplies for consumers, the ships unloaded…

The Philippines expressed concern about hundreds of Chinese military vessels it said were spotted this month in the disputed South China Sea, the latest example of tension in the crucial waterway.The Philippine Coast Guard reported that some 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen moored in line formation at a reef on March 7, a cross-government task force said late on Saturday.Foreign minister Teodoro Locsin, asked whether he would file a diplomatic protest over the ships’ presence, told a journalist on Twitter: “Only if the generals tell me.

A Chinese-flagged fishing vessel with 16 crew members carrying 130 tonnes of oil has run aground off Mauritius, causing a minor spill, a minister said on Monday.“Nothing to be worried about,” Sudheer Maudhoo, whose Blue Economy Ministry looks after maritime affairs, told Reuters, saying 310 metres of floating booms were controlling the leak.Drone footage showed dark patches in the Indian Ocean waters near the Lu Rong Yuan Yu 588 after it ran aground on Sunday.The incident followed July’s accident of the MV Wakashio…

A shipping company and chief officer have been convicted in Australia for dumping garbage near the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system.Following a prosecution by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), on February 26, 2021, the chief officer and operator of Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Iron Gate were fined and convicted in the Brisbane Magistrates Court for dumping the equivalent of a 120-liter household garbage bin full of food waste into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland.In 2018, Iron Gate was on a voyage between Brisbane and Gladstone when the chief officer approved the discharge of garbage overboard about 13 nautical miles southeast of Lady Elliot Island…

Japan has told Mauritius it would offer support on an "unprecedented scale", Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Monday, after a Japanese-owned ship struck a coral reef off the country's southeast coast in late July and spilled oil.Motegi was speaking to reporters after a phone call with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth."A sense of gratitude was expressed over our offer of support on an unprecedented scale, including financial support," Motegi told reporters.Jugnauth said during the phone call that he did not believe Japan was responsible for the accident…

A salvage team is still trying to plug a fuel leak from the fire-stricken New Diamond oil supertanker, Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Indika de Silva said on Friday.The tanker, which is carrying the about 2 million barrels of oil, caught fire on Sept. 3 and is currently 45 nautical miles (83 km), off Sri Lanka's east coast.The fire has been extinguished but the New Diamond has left two long trails of fuel oil after the Navy towed it out to sea.Authorities want to avoid damage to the…

The Sri Lankan navy said on Tuesday an oil slick had been spotted a kilometer from a loaded supertanker carrying roughly 2 million barrels of oil that has been engulfed in intermittent fires since an explosion on September 3.Oil from the engine room of the 20-year old New Diamond tanker “appears to have leaked out to the sea” following regular bouts of water-dousing by fire-fighting vessels, the navy spokesman said.The oil slick has raised concerns about the potential of further leakage from the cargo holds…

The latest report from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation finds Palau’s reefs had the highest coral cover observed on the Global Reef Expedition—the largest coral reef survey and mapping expedition in history.Scientists at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) have released their findings on the state of coral reefs in Palau. Their research, based on extensive underwater surveys, found Palau’s reefs had the highest live coral cover of all the reefs studied on the Global Reef Expedition…

Ship repair yard Guam Shipyard will pay nearly $70,000 and take measures to improve its facilities following multiple pollution violations discovered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2018.The EPA said on Tuesday its settlement with Guam Industrial Services, Inc., doing business as Guam Shipyard, includes a $68,388 penalty as well as mandatory installation of preventative measures to reduce the discharge of stormwater pollutants into Apra Harbor.Guam Shipyard operates a ship repair facility on Cabras Island in Piti…