The Indonesian government has whacked a US$451 million/£350 million/400 million Euro fine on the British company that operates a cruise ship that ran aground off Raja Ampat in March.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry calculated the fine by adding up the damage to the ecosystem wrought by the Bahamian-flagged, 90-meter/295-foot-long ship MV Caledonian Sky — totalling about 18,882 square meters — and the regional economy, according to Scuba Diver Magazine.
On March 27, Noble Caledonian issued a statement after the grounding, part of which said:
“We are working with local experts to understand how we can assist with the regeneration of the reef. We value our relationships around the world with local people and we are sorry to have impacted the local community. To this end Noble Caledonia has established a fund with the aim of helping the local population and contributing to the repair of the reef. We would like to send our own Expedition teams to help with the regeneration.
“Separately, we are fully insured and our insurers are currently working in conjunction with the Indonesian Government and a local reef assessment expert. The assessment of the reef took place from the 19th to 21st March and further meetings have been scheduled by the Indonesian government to occur at the beginning of April where we shall together work towards a fair and realistic settlement.”
Scuba Diver Magazine recently reported that the ship’s insurer had been negotiating a much lower amount than the fine the Indonesian government ultimately imposed.
