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Laolao Bay Resort supports boat launching site bill
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Posted on Apr 12 2009
The president of Saipan Laulau Development Inc. said the company backs a bill to designate Lau Lau Bay as a boat launching site for emergencies.
“We are very supportive of the proposed [b]ill regarding a boat launching facility at Lau Lau Bay, addressing the public benefit which will enable a quicker response to emergencies in the eastern coastline of Saipan,” president Yun Kim said in a letter to Rep. Rosemond Santos.
Kim also thanked Santos for allowing the resort officials to comment on the bill.
Saipan Laulau Development Inc. is building a multi-million “golftel” in the area.
Under House Bill 16-219, the shore fronting Bantalan Aliman at Lau Lau Bay will be designated as a boat launching site to assist local subsistence fishers and improve emergency response times.
“Every minute in a rescue operation is precious, and can make a difference in ‘rescuing’ rather than ‘recovering’ a drowning victim,” the bill stated.
Vice Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero, the author of the legislation, noted that four students drowned in 2007, when a wave struck the group on the southern side of Forbidden Island. Also, there have been other reported drownings, the measure said.
“The Legislature finds that rescue boats launching from the Smiling Cove Marina are confronted with many challenging variables in trying to conduct a search and rescue operation on the east side of the island. Rescue times can vary depending upon weather and water conditions, and can have an impact on the success of the rescue operation,” it read.
The Secretary of the Department of Public Lands and Natural Resources will establish the site and temporarily delineate the boat launching corridor to provide for the immediate use of the site until a permanent structure is established.
