Greenpeace to be fined for destroying reef

TUBBATAHA REEFS, Palawan — Environment watchdog Greenpeace is to be fined after its flagship Rainbow Warrior II damaged a coral reef off Palawan during a climate change awareness campaign, marine park rangers said yesterday.

The ship and its crew were assessed a P384,000 fine after the 55-meter motor-assisted schooner ran aground at the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park yesterday, a joint statement from Greenpeace and the Tubbataha Management Office said.

The ship’s bow sliced through a reef formation covering a total area of 32 meters by three meters, it added.

A Greenpeace official in the Philippines described the incident as accidental, and said it would comply with the marine park authorities’ ruling.

Red Constantino of Greenpeace Southeast Asia blamed the incident on a faulty maritime chart that showed the Rainbow Warrior was supposed to be 2.4 kilometers from the reef when it ran aground.

"This accident could have been avoided if the chart was accurate," he said. "We feel responsible, however, and this amount will be transferred on Wednesday, Nov. 2."

Park manager Angelique Songco said, "we appreciate the work that Greenpeace continues to do for the environment. We also appreciate the immediate action they took to get the full assessment of the damage."

The Rainbow Warrior II arrived in the reservation in the middle of the Sulu Sea last weekend as part of a four-month Asia-Pacific campaign to promote earth-friendly energy sources, said Constantino.

He said the crew made dive sorties to inspect the effect of global warming on the coral formation, which is listed among the World Heritage sites of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

"The chart indicated we were a mile and a half" from the coral reef when the ship ran aground, Constantino told Agence France Presse (AFP). He said the August 2005 navigational map was provided by the mapping office of the Philippine government.

The ship’s own rubber boats safely towed the Rainbow Warrior II into deeper water, and it escaped serious damage, an AFP photographer aboard the ship said.

Constantino said the ship was now heading back to the Puerto Princesa on the western island of Palawan to file an incident report with the marine park office.

Originally built in Britain in 1957 as a steam-powered fishing vessel, the Rainbow Warrior II replaced its namesake that was sunk by French agents in 1985 in Auckland harbor on its way to Moruroa Atoll to block a French nuclear test.

One crew member drowned and two French secret service agents were later jailed after pleading guilty to charges of manslaughter and willful damage.

Constantino said that Greenpeace divers on the Tubbataha expedition had found the coral healthy with no evidence of bleaching, believed to be caused by warming sea temperatures.

Constantino said the healthy state of the Tubbataha Reefs did not disprove the theory of global warming, which he described as an "extremely complicated science."

Greenpeace and the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board both agreed there is a serious need of updated maps and precise maritime charts of the Tubbataha reefs to avoid similar accidents. — AFP, AP