Efforts undertaken on Sunday to salvage the vessel MV Christina Debora on Cobblers Reef, in St Philip, were halted due to safety concerns for personnel engaged in the recovery.
Following real-time aerial footage captured by the Barbados Defence Force’s (BDF) Drone Unit, a team from the Barbados Coast Guard ship Trident and a smaller Coast Guard vessel made attempts to conduct an onboard assessment to determine the most efficient and effective method to connect the MV Christina Debora to the Barbados Port Inc.’s tug boat, Hercules. However, these efforts were hampered by unfavourable sea conditions.
Based on the weather forecast for the upcoming week, a BDF official with the task force indicated that the swell of waves affecting the coast would prohibit vessel access for the next few days.
Director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit, Dr Leo Brewster, said the longer the vessel stayed in position on the reef, the greater the damage would be to the immediate ecosystem, especially with the vessel rocking.
Brewster, however, noted that the safety concerns for personnel deployed to board the vessel must take precedence.
It was agreed by on-site officials from the Government-led inter-agency task force that until wave and wind conditions reduced and changed direction, salvage efforts for the vessel would best be made between Friday and Sunday.
Until the salvage efforts resume, the BDF will continue daily aerial surveillance.
(BGIS)
