OFFICIALS FIGHT TO REMOVE BARGE THAT IS STUCK ON REEF
March 12, 2010
There is a barge lodged on the reef near Ambergris Caye. The barge is estimated to be 30 feet by 23 feet in size and is currently stuck on the reef some eight miles north of San Pedro Town near Blue Reef Resort. With the wave actions, the barge turned upside down and lodged itself where it remains tonight. Authorities believe that it happened sometime during the course of last night since residents travelling in the area, state that the vessel was not there yesterday. Port Authority, Coast Guard and the Department of the Environment has been on the scene since morning investigating the incident. Earl Valerio is the Head of the Port Authority Office in San Pedro Town and told us more.
Earl Valerio; Head, Port Authority Office
“We were trying to get it off the reef. We are trying to separate the sections of the barge because it has three sections. They have cut some of the metal that holds the barge together; there was a section that was under water. It was cut with a hag saw. It looks like it floated in because it is sitting firmly on the reef and there are some cuts on the top part of the barge. It has no markings on it. The barges in Belize are marked; they have some markings with numbers and sometimes the name of the mother ship on them but that barge has no marking on it. We are only speculating but maybe it broke away from a bigger convoy and then floated into Belize. It is highly unlikely that it belongs to a Belizean because where it is lodged right now it seems as though it floated out from the high seas and landed directly on the reef.”
The barge has no markings and authorities believe that it is a part of a larger vessel that may have drifted in the open waters outside of Ambergris Caye. Authorities are working in dismantling then removing the barge before it causes more damage to the reef.LoveFM