7 News Belize

GOB Will Have To Move Submersible Stuck On Reef
posted (March 17, 2015)
There's that vessel grounding that the Ministry has to deal with, but what about the submersible which was found grounded on the reef 6 miles north of San Pedro? It was found last week, and OCEANA Belize has done an investigation which reveals that the vessel is a Quantum-9, deep-water submersible, believed to have been contracted to an oil company which does research and exploration for gas and oil companies.

It was reported "lost" in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2014, but it has found it's way on the Belizean Barrier Reef, and the conservationists say that it must be removed as soon as possible. We asked CEO Adele Catzim-Sanchez about it today, and she told us that Ministry officials have already been approved to take emergency actions:

Adele Catzim-Sanchez, CEO - Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development
"I wouldn't be able to comment on that because I know that is something that happened fairly recent and I really don't have all the information to be able to speak fully on that particular situation, but we can engage with the media to provide an official update on that. I know it's something that has been raised by a couple people this week actually, to request that we also trigger that emergency response. I know for a fact that I have approved the staff of the Department of the Environment going out into the field to check on the situation and so I am just awaiting the formal report that comes out of that assessment, but we have activated our response."

OCEANA Belize says that this grounding has caused significant damage to coral species at the site, and that the swath of damage is clearly visible. Efforts to safely remove it without causing any more damage have proven unsuccessful so far because of the high wave action in the area which has run aground.

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