EPA proposes to penalise run aground local vessels
Lack of an appropriate budget is one of the biggest problems facing the EPA, the agency's Director General Naeem said.
By
Aishath Maha
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to seek government advice on a special policy to determine how to compensate for damage caused by local vessels that get shipwrecked on reefs in Maldives.
EPA Director General Ibrahim Naeem made the announcement in response to a question from a member of the Parliament’s Environment and Climate Change Committee on Monday.
There is no existing regulation for domestic vessels that run aground reefs. The EPA said the case of the 'Niumath 2' vessel operated by Misty Shipping Line running aground Paradise Resort reef has been left pending until such a policy is formulated.
Naeem said the damage can be compensated in ways other than by fines. Such measures are planned to be included in the policy, he said, but gave no details.
The EPA also said it prioritises on the issues of larger shipwrecks.
The EPA said it is expensive to conduct studies on small scale shipwrecks. The EPA does not have the budget and resources to deal with all such incidents, it said.
"If we have to chase everything that runs aground, we can't do this. There are always fishing vessels that run aground from time to time. We have to chase all these things. This will have more negative consequences than adequate results," Naeem said.
"We are busy with penalising large foreign vessels”..
According to Naeem:
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In the last few years, the EPA has earned MVR 228 million from 38 fines
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These include two major issues; MVR 153 million for the Rasfari reef and MVR 61 million for the Noomara reef
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The EPA can only assess damages when the vessel is lifted from the reef
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The fine will be based on the damage to the reef
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There is money that various government agencies have to pay to the state through EPA fines
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The EPA does not receive the penalty proceeds; the money will go to the state
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The budget issue is one of the biggest problems facing the EPA
Naeem said more than MVR 657 million has not been received as fines. Due to the way regulations are, the EPA has difficulties in obtaining the money, he said. He noted:
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The EPA cannot go directly to court; the case has to be filed with the Attorney General's office and there are times when cases are delayed at the AG for various reasons
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The AG has 10 cases at present
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The report of the case sent to the Environment Minister is sometimes delayed for various reasons
