Last month Paul Allen's Tatoosh made international headlines when her anchor damaged a Cayman Islands' coral reef. And now Microsoft co-founder retained experts in coral restoration to "assess the situation" and has submitted a plan of action to the Department of Environment, according to a statement from his company Vulcan Inc. The 92,38m Tatoosh is blamed for damaging coral across a 13,000-square-foot area of reef on Jan. 14. Video footage by divers, shared with the Cayman Compass last week, showed where coral had been sheared off from the reef.
According to the statement, "Paul G. Allen and Vulcan believe the most important action now is a rapid review of the remediation plan by local officials and the restoration of the reef. Time is of the essence, and we stand ready to begin playing our part in quickly implementing that plan."
The statement went on to outline Mr. Allen's credentials as a "global philanthropist and conservationist."
"Mr. Allen has developed programs and invested in solutions that protect and regenerate declining coral reefs, created the largest comprehensive data-collection and analysis of the world's populations of reef sharks and rays, and is working to raise awareness and inspire action to address climate change and illegal fishing. Because of that commitment, the damage to the reef resonates particularly deeply with us and is why we supported swift action to help mitigate the impact and restore the reef as quickly as possible."
Regarding the remediation plan, Vulcan additionally says, "We took this step even though extensive past and recent damage to this same reef, as a result of other incidents, makes it difficult to determine what, if any, actual damage was caused by the Tatoosh."
According to the statement, "Paul G. Allen and Vulcan believe the most important action now is a rapid review of the remediation plan by local officials and the restoration of the reef. Time is of the essence, and we stand ready to begin playing our part in quickly implementing that plan."
The statement went on to outline Mr. Allen's credentials as a "global philanthropist and conservationist."
"Mr. Allen has developed programs and invested in solutions that protect and regenerate declining coral reefs, created the largest comprehensive data-collection and analysis of the world's populations of reef sharks and rays, and is working to raise awareness and inspire action to address climate change and illegal fishing. Because of that commitment, the damage to the reef resonates particularly deeply with us and is why we supported swift action to help mitigate the impact and restore the reef as quickly as possible."
Regarding the remediation plan, Vulcan additionally says, "We took this step even though extensive past and recent damage to this same reef, as a result of other incidents, makes it difficult to determine what, if any, actual damage was caused by the Tatoosh."