TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has urged the Government and the Regional Government to increase their maritime supervision in social and ecological aspects following the destruction of coral reefs in Raja Ampat, West Papua. The destruction was allegedly caused by the body of the Caledonian Sky cruise ship from the Bahamas that rammed into a large number of coral reefs in shallow waters under a low tide March 4, 2017.

Sea Coast and Small Islands Campaign Manager from Walhi, Ony Mahadika, stated that the government does, in fact, focusing on maritime development. “But unfortunately their focus is based on its economy and coastal industrialization, which makes their focus on social and ecological matters very minimal,” he said on Sunday, March 12, 2017.

The 90-meter long cruise ship operated by tour company Noble Caledonia hit the shallow water after completing their bird-watching at Waigeo 4 Island. The evaluation result from the Pacific Water Resources Research Center from Papua University shows that the Caledonian Sky had left a vast trail of coral reef destruction of 1,600 square meters. This coral damage took place in a diving site known as the Crossover Reef.

Ony regrets about the tragedy happened in Raja Ampat, considering that healing the damaged coral reefs would need another 10-20 years to recover. He urged the government to conduct an investigation and hand over a form of punishment for the owner of the vessel. “This is essential as a deterrent effect,” he said.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fishery has already dispatched a team to investigate the level of damage endured by coral reefs in Raja Ampat. The team involves the Directorate General of Marine Space Management and the Directorate General and the Directorate General of Marine Resources and Fisheries.

A local team in Sorong have already observed the location of the incident for the past few days.

EGI ADYATAMA| MITRA TARIGAN