An 85 foot luxury yacht – “The Great Escape” is tonight lodged
on Belize’s barrier reef near Hunting Caye. It has been there since November
30th of last year when it’s captain and owner – American national
Albert Barscroft ran aground on a portion of the reef in the Sapodilla and Hunting
Caye Range while exiting Belizean territorial waters.
What’s news tonight is that the yacht is falling apart and it needs to
be removed to avoid an environmental catastrophe. The yacht is loaded with fuel
and after being lodged on the reef for 6 weeks – the Department of Environment
fears that it is beginning to break. The vessel hasn’t been removed because
according to the DOE, the yacht’s owner allegedly paid Jorge Alfredo Aldana
US$10,000 to remove but he didn’t. Aldana allegedly wanted another US$60,000
to remove it.
So now it is in the hands of the Department of Environment which we are told
is trying to gather the necessary funds – reportedly between $30,000 and
$50,000 to pay to have it ship pulled off the reef. The owner will then reimburse
the DOE.
The yacht’s owner Albert Barscroft is not in the country because after
he was detained by the Coast Guard after the yacht ran aground, he had a heart
attack and was rushed to Guatemala for treatment. He has yet to return.
Because the vessel is still lodged on the reef, the Department of Environment
has been unable to assess the damage to the reef. The Port Authority is however
still investigating the cause of the accident. We are told that the evidence
so far suggests that the accident was a result of negligence.
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