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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

An anchor chain on the 300-foot mega-yacht, the MV Tatoosh, owned by billionaire Paul Allen, has destroyed almost 14,000 sq.ft of reef in the West Bay replenishment zone [caymannewsservice.com], the Department of Environment confirmed following a survey of the area. DoE officials said more than 80% of the coral in the area has been damaged by the luxury boat’s chain. Local divers conducted an in-water survey of the coral reef damage last week and the DoE expects to publish the detail findings next week.

Early findings already indicate extensive damage and investigations into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing, with the assistance of staff aboard the Microsoft billionaire’s superyacht, which was anchored close to the Doc Poulson wreck and The Knife dive site, officials said.

“In addition to assessing the damage and determining the cause of this incident, we are also paying close attention to lessons learned so that we can more effectively prevent these accidents while still hosting visiting yachts,” a spokesperson for the DoE said.

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