MM Export barges damage reefs; no meaningful action
EPA said some cases have already been sent to the Attorney General's Office for prosecution.
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By
Aminath Shifleen
“They are doing whatever they want to, to Maldivian reefs,” Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Director General Ibrahim Naeem said regarding the Indian company that transports construction gravel and sand.
"They don't care at all”.
Barges and tugs operated by India's MM Exports have repeatedly run aground on Maldivian reefs and caused irreparable damage to marine ecosystems. Each time, the EPA imposes fines amounting to millions of Rufiyaa. The government has not received any payment either.
According to the EPA, the company’s barges and tugs have run aground reefs five times so far:
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In 2014, a tug of MM Export ran aground on Thilafushi reef; originally fined MVR 22 million, but the fine was reduced to MVR 2.8 million at the request of the company
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In 2015, a tug and barge of the company ran aground on K. Fushidhiggaru reef; the company was fined MVR 110 million for the damages, but later it was reduced to MVR 100 million; the tug was recovered four months later and the barge more than a year later
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The fine was later reduced to the maximum amount of MVR 100 million under the regulations
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Last May, the EPA had investigated the damage caused by a MM Export tugboat and barge carrying rock boulders to HA. Dhidhoo when it crashed onto a reef, but the fines levied have not been disclosed yet
A barge of the company carrying rock boulders for the coastal protection works in Fuvahmulah ran aground on Friday. However, by the time the EPA began investigating the matter, the vessel had been recovered and left Maldives. Therefore, the EPA has now referred the matter to the police.
"These fines amount to millions of Rufiyaa. Huge damage to the reefs, but no money has been received to date," Naeem said.
He said some cases have already been sent to the Attorney General's Office for prosecution.
MM Export's agent in Maldives is Mainland Shipping. The EPA has expressed concern that the company has not taken responsibility for any of these incidents.
