Afcons delays Villimale reef survey findings publication

Environment Protection Agency (EPA) said on Tuesday that the assessment report compiled on the survey of damage caused to the reef by Afcons’ Self Evaluating Platform (SEP) that ran adrift the Villimale reef is not published yet because the company has not responded.

EPA Director General Ibrahim Naeem told Atoll Times:

EPA said the survey was completed a week ago, and that they would soon publish the amount Afcons will be fined with, along with damage assessment details.

On 16 August, the SEP, used to drill boreholes required for the Greater Male Connectivity Bridge (GMCP) bridge pillars, had gone adrift amid strong currents while it was being driven to be anchored to the main hull. Drifting with the current, the platform had run aground on the outer Villimale reef, injuring the three people on the platform when it had crashed.

A week after the crash, local NGOs advocating for environmental conservation began protesting the delay in the dislodging of the platform, and expressed their concern regarding the damage this delay could be causing to the reef.

The platform was dislodged 11 days later. The eight days after that were spent on clearing away the underwater debris caused by the crash, and EPA managed to conduct their damage assessment after the cleanup was done.

EPA had published photos taken by diving into the area where the platform was located. The photos showed that large craters had been dug in the Vilimale reef and that the corals of the reef had been destroyed.

EPA Director Naeem said earlier that the island was damaged by the pillars. 

Timeline

In the past, Maldives has experienced similar marine industrial crashes and sustained massive reef damages. The EPA had been there to investigate such incidents, make damage assessments, and has even imposed fines on the responsible parties for the damage that had been caused, sometimes even charging the maximum fine penalty of MVR 100 million.