JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Indonesia says nearly 19,000 square meters (204,000 square feet) of coral reef was damaged by a foreign cruise ship that ran aground in the pristine waters of Raja Ampat in West Papua province earlier this month.
The extent of the damage, announced by the deputy maritime affairs minister this week following a survey of the affected strait, was far worse than initially thought. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said the government will be “very firm” in demanding compensation.
Arif Havas Oegroseno, the deputy minister at the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs, said the joint assessment by a national survey team and the tour company’s insurers found nearly 13,300 square meters (143,160 square feet) suffered damage that was fatal to the coral.
He said another 5,600 square meters (60,280 square feet) sustained lesser damage from shock waves of sand and broken coral sent out by the ship’s maneuvers but has a 50 percent chance of dying.
The 4,200-ton cruise ship M.V. Caledonian Sky, which was chartered by British tour company Noble Caledonia, ran aground in the Dampier strait on March 4.