What happened to the ‘floating restaurant’?
I went for a boat ride the other day in Governors Harbour and I noticed that the rusting hulk of the wanna-be Stingray City Floating Restaurant, formerly known as MV Aqua, is no longer anchored there. I am hoping that it was safely disposed of and that the owners did not just take it to deep water and scuttle it. Where did it go?
Auntie’s answer: The Port Authority of the Cayman Islands confirmed that the owner moved the vessel to Harbour House Marina on 3 May, and it is tied up by the seawall. I do not have any information on what the final plan is for the boat, though.
As for your concern about scuttling the vessel, a Department of Environment (DoE) official explained the process to get permission to dispose of a boat in the sea; the DoE must issue an Ocean Disposal Permit for that to happen.
“Under the Merchant Shipping Law and the Convention, all other options for repurposing or disposal of the vessel must be explored before permission is given for sinking,” the official said. “Conditions for sinking, if approved, would include an extensive cleanup of the vessel removing all toxic substances, plastics, electronics, wiring, carpeting, etc.”
You will be interested to know that to date, the DoE has not received an application for such a permit for that vessel.
Category: Ask Auntie
DOE HAs their job cut out for them as there some Trashy Waterspport Operator who care about making more money each month, But very little about their environment
Ask you representative for West Bay North.
Thank you Auntie!
DoE confuses an artificial reef sinking with a bathypalagic zone insurance scam…those happen all the time, specifically because the deliberate tampering evidence is lost to the depths and beyond verification. I doubt there has ever been a permit filed at DOE for one of those!