On March 4, the Bahamian-flagged Caledonian Sky cruise ship ran aground at Raja Ampat,West Papua, one of Indonesia’s best coral reefs and most popular dive sites as well. Unfortunatelly, more than 135,00-square-miles of coral reef area has been reported damaged.
The 4,200-ton cruise ship was on a bird-watching trip on Waigeo Island and was carrying 102 passengers and 79 crew when it slammed into the reef during low tide. Subsequently, the incident caused the destruction of the ecosystem’s structural habitat and the reduction or loss of diversity of eight coral genera, including acropora, porites, montipora and stylophora, the Guardian reports.
Although such an action would damage the reef even worse, Sorong City sent a tugboat to help the cruise ship be refloated.
Research conducted by Conservation International Indonesia (CII), Papua State University and the Regional Technical Implementing Unit (UPTD), estimates that Indonesia might suffer a loss of $18.6 million from damage to coral reefs.
