Jakarta - Arif Havas Oegroseno, deputy for maritime sovereignty division for the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, said that the survey team comprised of government officials and insurance company representatives have agreed that 18,882 square meters of coral reefs in Raja Ampat waters have been damaged after being rammed by MV Caledonian Sky cruise ship.
MV Caledonian Sky cruise ship ran aground and destroyed pristine coral reefs in Kri Island, Raja Ampat, West Papua, on March 4, 2017.
Havas said that the 18,882 square meters of coral reefs are divided into two gradations of damage. "Some 13,270 square meter were very seriously damaged by the ship and 5,612 square meter suffered medium damage after being hit by sands and pieces of corals due to the movement of the ship," Havas explained.
Havas added that the life expectancy of the 5,612 square meter corals reefs is 50 percent. If the coral reefs are dead, they will be deemed very seriously damaged. It will have a bearing on the valuation of the damages and claim for damage.
After reaching an agreement on the extent of the damage, the two survey teams will conduct a separate analysis. They both will meet again to discuss the results of the final survey in the first week of April 2017 in Jakarta.
The government will follow it up by calculating the damages. "The evaluation team will soon calculate the damages caused by the coral reefs destruction," Havas said.
