Ship groundings

As ports and populations at the coast expand shipping lanes are busier and ship groundings increase in frequency. Ship groundings occur for a medley of reasons ranging from human error to technological failure, and depending on the site and size of the impact the resulting damage can be minor or devastating. The physical damage of a ship grounding causes a tragic loss of marine habitat and life but ship cargoes potentially have even greater and longer lasting effects. Oil leakage is a common consequence of ship groundings as the fuel tanks are ruptured or pierced. The resulting oil spill is a disaster for local wildlife. Many seabirds are killed by exposure to oil, benthic communities are smothered and beaches are covered with a blanket of oil. Solutions such as burning off the oil creates air pollution, preferred solutions involve skimming the water's surface to collect the oil and safely storing the oil for re-transportation.

At one time there was, on average, one major incident occurred every year along the south coast of Florida. Molasses Reef in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary was crushed by the freighter Wellwood in 1984. 285 square metres of living coral at the east end of Molasses were destroyed when the 400-foot ship ground to a halt on the reef. The vessel apparently veered off course because of radar failure and remained stuck for two weeks before being pulled free. The Keys reef tract was eventually declared a shipping Area to be Avoided and electronic warning signals were installed along the length of the reef.

There were 39 incidents of ship groundings and breaches around Hurghada and the Sinai coast from April 1997 to April 1998. The maximum fine for dropping anchor over reef was US$6000 and the maximum total fine was for the Marylin which hit Shedwan reef at Al-Ashrafi; It was fined a total of US$4million and the vessel was impounded until the fine had been paid. This aggressive action sends a clear message to shipping companies and encourages caution and care to be taken when navigating Egyptian reefs. In other areas getting compensation is not as easy. There were 160 groundings of ships larger than 100 'gross registered tonnes' in the South Pacific from 1976 until 1996. Many were foreign-owned fishing vessels abandoned by their owners leaving no possibility of clean-up or salvage.

More anchoring restrictions, mooring buoys and no shipping areas are needed to reduce the number of ship groundings that occur.