MVR 300,000 fine on vessel for Hulhule reef damage
EPA said that the local agent of the vessel, Grace Atoll Pvt Ltd, had made the fine payment on 13 September.
By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
A container vessel that ran aground on the reef off the airport island of Hulhule in early September has been fined over MVR 300,000.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a statement on Friday that a damage assessment was conducted on 10 September after MV Chen Glory 9 ran aground on Hulhule reef on 2 September, in collaboration with a surveyor appointed by the vessel owner.
The survey revealed:
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The reef area where the boat had crashed sustained a number of damages.
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A fine of MVR 365,000 had been imposed, to be paid within 30 days.
EPA said that the local agent of the vessel, Grace Atoll Pvt Ltd, had made the fine payment on 13 September.
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 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.
During the construction of the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), a self-evaluating platform had run aground Villimale reef, with its anchor spuds getting deeply embedded in the reef site.
EPA had carried out a damage assessment, but a fine has not yet been imposed on the construction company Afcons Ltd. EPA has not yet made the survey report public, allowing for Afcons to respond to the damage assessment.
