The owners of a freighter, Federal Pescadores, that ran aground off Fort Lauderdale almost two years ago and damaged a large swath of reef have agreed to pay $3.2 million in repairs and fines -- $3 million for restoration work and a $200,000 fine that will be paid into a state environmental trust fund. In an effort to repair the nearly 6 acres of coral that were destroyed during the grounding, scuba divers have been removing rubble by hand and re-reattaching the broken pieces to the reef using cement.
As you recall, the UN valued a square mile of reef to be between $259,000 and $1.5 million. Six acres equals 0.009375 square miles. Even using the UN's highest valuation, the shipping company only should've been liable for $14,062.50, which is .43945% of the total fine. Weird, huh? Once again, it seems that the UN's valuation is incompatible with reality.
1. Something tells me Kofi Annan's son has been investing in coral reefs.
Posted at 3:40PM on Jun 20th 2006 by Billy Williamson