Two weeks ago tonight, the Westerhaven Cargo Ship loaded with containers crashed
into Belize’s barrier reef near Caye Glory. It tore through 11,000 square
meters of pristine reef and according to the Department of Environment it caused
US$26.9 million in damages. That’s right, the DOE and Fisheries Department
yesterday arrived at the final figure. At this hour – we are told the
Port Authority and attorneys for the ship are working on a settlement.
That settlement will have to be more than US$26.9 million and can be as much
as three times that amount. That is because as we first reported on Friday,
the Port Authority found that the captain Fritz Schroeder was negligent. He
has told the DOE that the ship was on auto-pilot when it ran aground. And that
may explain why he skipped town on Friday. He left behind his 14 member crew.
We are told another captain has taken command of the Westerhaven.
We note that while the sum of damages is large, this is not the largest damage
assessment ever recorded. The largest was for the “Transfer” which
slammed into Lighthouse Reef in 2005. That ship is still there and no one was
ever charged since after the accident – the captain and crew fled.
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