Report: Accidents Likely In Environmentally Fragile Seas
Report: Accidents Likely In Environmentally Fragile Seas
by Scott Neuman
June 07, 2013 4:41 PM
Many of the world's most accident-prone waters for shipping are also among the most delicate marine eco-systems, according to a new study released Friday by WWF International.
The fear of something like a major oil spill in environmentally sensitive waters comes as the number of vessels plying the world's oceans has risen 20 percent in the past 15 years, from 85,000 to 105,000, the report says.
"Since 1999 there have been 293 shipping accidents in the South China Sea and east Indies, home of the Coral Triangle and 76 percent of the world's coral species," says Simon Walmsley, WWF International's marine manger. "As recently as April this year we've seen a Chinese fishing boat run aground on a protected coral reef in the Philippines that had already been damaged by a US Navy ship in January."
The reports says that general cargo vessels account for 40 percent of all ships lost at sea and fishing boats for nearly a quarter.
More:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/07/189587708/report-accidents-likely-in-environmentally-fragile-seas
