By Joseph Jubelag
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has ordered a Vietnamese cargo vessel to pay more than P5 million as penalty for wreaking havoc on the artificial reef of the protected seascape of Sarangani Bay.
Iskak Dipatuan, superintendent of the DENR-Sarangani Bay Protected Area Management Board, said the agency has penalized the owner of M/V HTK Energy, a Vietnam registered cargo vessel which ran aground near the shoreline of Queen Tuna beach in Sarangani Bay this city last June 18.
Dipatuan said the vessel destroyed some 200 artificial reefs in the area which amounted to P5.6 million.
The vessel which was loaded with copra was navigating to dock at the Makar port here but lost its control and ran aground some 30 away from the city-government-owned Queen Tuna park.
Katherine Lopez Bitco, an environment management specialist at the city environment natural resources office said the artificial reefs, located 20 meters from the shore, were constructed more than 10 years ago by environmental groups.
He said the damage was quite extensive since the destroyed area could reach 100 to 200 square meters.