The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ONE year after a tugboat and barge ran aground on a coral reef in the protected Fowl Cays National Park, the vessels remain stranded, with debris continuing to destroy critically endangered coral and frustrate conservationists, divers, and Abaco residents.

The grounding occurred in late March 2024, when the vessels — en route to Baker’s Bay — encountered rough seas and became stuck atop a reef in the marine park, which is managed by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT).

Since then, four attempts to remove the vessels have failed, and observers say the wreck continues to shift during storms, causing new damage with each movement.

“Every time the tug shifts in heavy swells, it scrapes away more of the reef,” said Dr Charlotte Dunn, a volunteer diver with the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation. “We’ll dive back down and find broken coral colonies, half-buried gorgonians, and fresh rubble. It’s heartbreaking to watch the corals get pounded over and over.”

Divers and environmentalists report widespread damage at the site, including twisted metal, planks, plastic light covers, chart books, and rope tangled among shattered elkhorn coral. The barge’s cargo — pea rock and sand — has spilled into the ocean, burying reef-building corals and suffocating fragile marine life.

Elkhorn coral, listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is one of the Caribbean’s most essential reef-building species.

David Knowles, BNT’s chief park warden, confirmed that repeated groundings have worsened the damage. A joint statement released yesterday by BNT, the Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS), the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO), and Friends of the Environment (FRIENDS) called for urgent action and expressed frustration at the lack of progress.

“During these attempts, the tug’s stern repeatedly grounded on an adjacent section of reef, pulverising corals below into rubble and sand,” the group said.

The statement also questioned the lack of enforcement despite clear laws holding vessel owners responsible.

PIMS Abaco programme manager Denise Mizell, who has led multiple cleanup efforts, said the legal and financial hurdles have left nonprofits struggling to contain the environmental fallout.

“It’s easy to point fingers at those in charge, but they can only do so much without cooperation and funding from the owner’s insurance,” she said. “Meanwhile, corals keep getting crushed, and people who treasure these waters feel powerless.”

While the Port Department has reportedly urged the vessel owners to take action, Acting Port Controller Lieutenant Commander Berne Wright previously told The Tribune that safe removal requires calm seas and specialised equipment — conditions that have yet to align. He did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.

Last April, Dr Rhianna Neely-Murphy, Director of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection, said the owners would likely face penalties. However, she declined to provide details and said bad weather and other obstacles had delayed the recovery effort.

Environmental groups say stronger enforcement is possible under existing laws. They cited international conventions such as the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks and The Bahamas’ own Environmental Planning and Protection Act, 2019, both of which empower the government to act when vessel owners fail to.

“Owners must carry wreck removal insurance and face stiff penalties if they fail to remove a grounded vessel,” the groups said. “The Port Department can also coordinate with other agencies to order salvage operations or, in some cases, remove the vessel itself and bill the owner.”

Local frustration is mounting. Olivia Patterson-Maura, executive director of Friends of the Environment, said more collaboration is urgently needed.

“We really want to collaborate on practical steps that get the wreck out of the park and restore the site, but we need more than non-profit organisations to step up to the plate,” she said. “This is a national treasure, and it’s in all our interests to remove it before more damage occurs.”

Troy Albury, president of Save Guana Cay Reef, warned that continued delays are harming not just marine ecosystems but also tourism and the economy.

“It’s gut-wrenching to see such negligence,” he said. “It’s a threat to everything people love about Abaco — the fish, even the tourism jobs. Every week, visitors ask, ‘Why is there a barge on the reef?’ and I don’t have a good answer.”