According to The Guardian, a 300-foot yacht owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen drove into a sensitive reef in the Cayman Islands on January 14, 2016, destroying 80 percent of the protected coral. His investment firm Vulcan released a statement, assuring that when the “crew was alerted by a diver that her anchor chain may have impacted coral in the area, [they] promptly, and on their own accord, relocated their position to ensure the reef was protected.” The mistake could end up costing him up to $600,000 in fines, which we doubt will be a huge financial blow, as the man is estimated to be worth $17 billion. More than anything the incident is embarrassing, as Allen is a marine conservationist.
This isn’t the only time a vessel has impacted the Cayman Islands negatively—last year a cruise ship destroyed a large portion of reef as well—we hope these incidents only lead to better prevention solutions.
