Feb. 2, 2009 — Sensitive coral reefs south of St. Croix were damaged when a 377-foot-long oil tanker, Sichem Amethyst, grounded 1.7 miles south of Enfield Green on St. Croix, the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural resources announced Monday.
The tanker was inbound towards Hovensa to receive a shipment of fuel, and thus was empty when the accident took place two weeks ago. No oil was spilled, according to Ricardo Castrodad, a U.S. Coast Guard public information officer in Puerto Rico.
The ship is owned by New Victory Line S.A., and is registered in Panama, Castrodad said.
The incident occurred on the morning of Jan. 17. According to the Coast Guard, a message was received at approximately 10 a.m. reporting that the ship had struck the reef. By the time the message was received, Sichem Amethyst had already freed itself of the reef without assistance.
Castrodad said the cause of the accident is still being investigated and he is unable to explain what happened.
The vessel was ordered to port, and inspection found that while the rear of the hull had been damaged, there were no punctures or perforations.
"The bottom was scraped, but there was no structural damage," Castrodad said.
The ship was cleared to take on its load of fuel at Hovensa, but chose instead to return to its port. The Coast Guardsman did not know why the ship failed to take on its fuel load.
The tanker's impact caused significant damage to the reef, according to Jamal Nielsen, media relations coordinator for DPNR.
Photos taken by DPNR divers show places where propellers sliced through the coral, Nielsen said, and other places where the hull crushed the coral and dragged pieces into a pile.
The DPNR's Division of Fish and Wildlife was notified of the incident, as was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Tom Moore of NOAA's Assessment and Restoration Division, Southeast Region, has offered assistance to DPNR in damage assessment, restoration and responsibility issues.
The ship's operator has also retained the services of Polaris Applied Science to work with DPNR to assess injuries and develop a restoration plan.
On Sunday, Commissioner Robert Mathes and scientists from DPNR met with Moore and Greg Challenger from Polaris at the Ann Abramson Pier to discuss those restoration plans, which will include taking broken or dislodged living coral and reattaching them to the sea floor. After these plans are submitted by Polaris and approved by DPNR, restoration will begin immediately.
Coral is an accumulation of the limestone skeletons of marine polyps. Over times these build into reefs and eventually islands. Coral reefs are an important habitat for marine life of all kinds.
The coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands have been adversely affected by human activities. Around the world, 10 percent of all coral reefs are degraded beyond recovery and two thirds of the world's coral reefs systems have been damaged.
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