A British-owned, Bahamian-flagged Noble Caledonia cruise ship sailed into 1,600 metres of coral reef in the western Indonesian archipelago of Raja Ampat on March 4, damaging the structural stability of the underwater environment. “A tugboat from Sorong city was deployed to help refloat the cruise ship, which is something that shouldn’t have happened because it damaged the reef even worse,” Tapilatu told The Guardian. “Noble Caledonia is firmly committed to protection of the environment,” the company said in a statement. “The government has had talks about compensation with the ship company, and I’m optimistic that this won’t go to court,” Tapilatu said. After inspection, divers concluded that the ship’s stability was not compromised.

Source: National Post March 10, 2017 20:26 UTC