Marinha 2017 — Questão 3 · Sinônimos | Synonymous

Cruise ship crash causes more than $18M in damage to pristine Indonesian reef, experts say

Published March 14, 2017.

1 ___ The damage caused by a British-owned cruise

ship that accidentally ran aground on a pristine

Indonesian coral reef could total more than $18

million, according to academics and environmental

5 groups working in the region.

Researchers for Conservation International

Indonesia (CII), Papua State University and the

Regional Technical Implementing Unit (UPTD)

found that the grounding of the 295-foot Caledonian

10 Sky cruise ship - which weighs 4,200 tons and

carried 102 passengers - caused massive damage to

several endemic reefs that are unique to Raja Ampat,

a remote and idyllic island chain west of Indonesia's

Papua province.

15 __ “The types of reefs that were damaged by the

ship are Genus Porites, Acropora, Poicilopora,

Tubastrea, Montipora, Stylopora, Favia and Pavites. It

will take decades to restore the reefs,” Ricardo

Tapilatu, who headed the research, told the Jakarta

20 Post. Tapilatu added that the damage area stretched

for more than 145,000-square-miles.

The Caledonian Sky, owned by British

company Noble Caledonia, was finishing a bird-

watching trip on Waigeo Island on March 4 when it

25 veered slightly off course and slammed into the reef.

An investigation into the incident found that the

cruise ship allegedly entered the area without

consulting local guides and that ship’s crew only

relied on GPS navigation without considering the

30 tide.

“The skipper forced the ship to enter the area,

which was not open to cruise ships,” CII spokesman,

Albert Nebore, said.

Noble Caledonia called the accident

35 an “unfortunate” incident and added that the company

is “firmly committed to protection of the

environment” and fully backed an investigation,

but made no mention of compensation.

The Caledonian Sky has since been refloated

40 and an inspection revealed that "the hull was

undamaged and remained intact,” the company said.

The ship itself “did not take on water, nor was

any pollution reported as a result of the grounding,”

Noble Caledonia added.

45 Indonesia’s Enviromnent and Forestry

Ministry has deployed its staff to identify the

damaged coral reefs and collect evidence that they

will use to demand compensation from the British

company.

50 __ Ministry spokesman Djati Witjaksono said,

“We will discuss with experts the amount of

compensation the company must pay [to Indonesia].”

Locals in Raja Ampat say that besides the

damage to the reef, the accident has also put a major

55 strain on the local economy, which relies heavily on

snorkeling and scuba-diving tourism.

“Coral reefs are the main attraction for many

tourists in the area. It is counterproductive for our

tourism prospects,” Laura Resti, from Raja Ampat's

60 homestay association, told the BBC. “We have tried

to conserve those coral reefs for a long time, and just

within few hours they were gone”. Resti added: “I am

so sad and feel ashamed to take tourists there.”

(Adapted from: www.foxnews.com)

Part I - Reading Comprehension

In lines 53-55: “Locals in Raja Ampat say that besides the damage to the reef, the accident has also put a major strain on the local economy (...).”, the word in bold is closest in meaning to