Worry for damage from grounded vessel

The fish carrier vessel Ou Ya Leng No. 6 hit the reef at Taka Atoll in the northern Marshall Islands January 3 and remains stuck there. Photo: US Coast Guard.
The fish carrier vessel Ou Ya Leng No. 6 hit the reef at Taka Atoll in the northern Marshall Islands January 3 and remains stuck there. Photo: US Coast Guard.

Since a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel grounded at Taka Atoll two weeks ago, the RMI government has taken steps to identify and deal with the environmental effects caused by the stranded 308-foot vessel. Ou Ya Leng No. 6 hit the reef at Taka, an uninhabited atoll next to Utrok, on January 3 and remains stuck on the reef.

The government dispatched a team to perform a preliminary survey of the area last week. The RMI EPA anticipates serious damage to the coral reef as a result of the grounding, according to EPA representatives. However, during a survey at Taka, they did not observe leakage of fuel or other pollution from the vessel.

Representatives of the Ou Ya Leng No. 6 are on island to work alongside the government in efforts to find the safest possible way to transfer remaining fuel off the vessel.

Read more about this in the January 18, 2019 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.