CRMO, DEQ approve sinking of vessels

The Coastal Resources Management Office has approved the permit application for the sinking of two vessels in Rota’s Sasanhaya Harbor to serve as additional tourists attraction on the island.

Likewise, the Division of Envronmental Quality (DEQ) has issued a 401 Water Quality Certification conditional permit to the office, giving the island permission to transport the ships from Guam.

Members of the CRM Board approved the application of the Rota Mayor’s Office whose project received enormous support from local businesses believing it would promote ecotourism on the island.

However, during the CRM’s board meeting last Tuesday, a concern on the effect of the project to the environment was raised by CRMO Director Felipe Atalig who requested a moratorium on the scuttling of vessels in CNMI waters.

“Nobody knows what would be the impact of this project to our environment and since this is the CNMI’s first venture, we want to determine whether it would be beneficial or detrimental to the environment,” Atalig explained.

Atalig raised the moratorium issue due to similar a situation on Tinian where four vessels are sitting idle on the dock awaiting disposal.

“I want to temporarily stop any similar projects until we have studied the impact of this project,” Atalig said, adding “in increment weather, will it be stationary or be moving from its original place?”

The proposal was met favorably by members of the board, including DEQ Director Ignacio Cabrera who said the agency found the project to have conflicted with the long-standing designation of the area as Class AA marine waters.

As part of the permit, DEQ is imposing a ten-year moratorium on the issuance of similar permits for the sinking of additional vessels for dive sites or artificial reefs.

Cabrera said part of the purpose of the designation is to protect the wilderness character of pristine waters throughout the CNMI.

As part of the conditional permit, Rota must implement a long-term biological monitoring plan that will study the effects of the scuttling.

“We want to allow time to observe the long-term environmental effects of this type of project in the Marianas,” Cabrera said.

Aside from helping the tourism industry, the project is also expected to help restore marine environment at Sasanhaya Bay which was destroyed in 1996 when US military personnel detonated war ordnance.

Under the plan, the US Coast Guard will sink the two 130-foot vessels and the federal government will shoulder the expenses in cleaning the two ships, which was donated by the U.S. District Attorney and US Marshals Office.

The sinking of the vessels is similar to what Bermuda, a British colony, did in 1996 when it also seized a Chinese ship from immigrant smugglers.

The US Coast Guard towed the ship to Miami where it was destroyed and the US government also agreed to pay part of the cost of cleaning the ship.

According to Atalig, a date has not been set as to the actual scuttling of the vessels.

He said the permit granted by CRMO is only one of the many permits the Rota Mayor’s Office needs to acquire before finalizing the project.