DAANBANTAYAN, Cebu – About 2.4 hectares of corals in the waters off Malapascua Island, northern Cebu, were damaged after a foreign vessel loaded with cement ran aground in the area Monday. The Cebu Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) said its initial assessment showed that 2.4 hectares of corals were ruined when the Panamanian-registered cargo ship MV Belle Rose broke down off Monad Shoal. Photo courtesy of vesseltracker.com PENRO officer-in-charge Baltazar Tribunalo told reporters that another team from PENRO, non-government group Sea Knights, and personnel from the University of San Carlos Marine Biology department will get back to the area to conduct thorough inspection. Tribunalo also said that diving activities in Malapascua Island have been suspended due to the stranded vessel. The suspension could hurt the island’s tourism industry as Malapascua is known as one of the world’s top diving sites. The Philippine Coast Guard Cebu Station was still trying [...]
