The 40 foot French sailboat known as the "Termaji," is still stuck on the reef in front of Caye Caulker. It has been there 10 weeks, since December 30th - and every effort to move it has failed. That's because the Termaji has a heavy steel hull - and none of the tugs in Belize have been able to haul it off the reef. The news tonight is that the Department of the Environment is now applying to the court for permission to cut the grounded vessel up into many smaller parts and haul them away. That's the only way to solve a problem that's getting worse everyday. "Worse" because the Termaji is continuing to damage the reef as the waves rock it back and forth: it has moved at least 30 feet along the reef crest since it crashed on December 30th. And the really bad part of that it that the department of Environment can only hold the owner liable for the initial damage, not what has happened subsequently.
And, speaking of the owner, he has gone back to France and stopped taking calls form authorities here in Belize - in fact word we've received suggest he may even want to sue the government for the loss of his vessel. We say loss because - in ten weeks - pirates have systematically raided the fancy French sailboat of everything that could be moved, from small nautical fittings to the mast.
So far, efforts to remove it have cost government sixty thousand dollars - and it will cost another forty to cut it up and haul away the remains.
The best government can now hope for is that it will get compensation for the damage from the French insurance company.
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