Date of incident: April 27, 2006.
Location: Tallaboa, Puerto Rico.
Trustees:
Case status: Assessment Phase.
Overview:
In the early morning of April 27, 2006, the 748 foot Cayman Island-flagged
tanker Margara ran aground on a shallow coral reef. The reef is
located approximately 1 mile south-southeast of the entrance into Bahia de
Tallaboa and approximately 2.5 miles southeast of the entrance into Bahia de
Guayanilla.
Significant injury to corals occurred during the initial grounding and ensuing
efforts to extract the vessel caused further injury. Staghorn coral (Acropora
cervicornis), a recently listed threatened species, was among the
corals impacted. Preliminary estimates indicate the total area of impact was
approximately 2 acres. Because injuries resulted from response actions taken to
address the substantial threat of discharge of oil, the natural resource damage
assessment is being pursued under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and under a
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico statute.
Emergency restoration actions to reattach dislodged coral, stabilize reef
debris, and remove vessel paint were carried out from July to September, 2006.
