puerto rico m/t margara  

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Location of Incident:

South of Bahia de Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

Date of Incident:

27 April 2006

Incident Description:

The M/T MARGARA, a 228-m (748") tanker went aground on a hard bottom formation on 27 April 2006. The freighter was reportedly under its own power when it grounded in a water depth of approximately 10.5 m (34"). The M/T MARGARA was refloated and removed from the grounding location the following morning on 28 May 2006. The impacted hard bottom formation is located along the outer portion of the relatively narrow insular shelf south of Bahia de Tallaboa. The hard bottom bank feature is designated as reef habitat (U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 20011) and supports an epifaunal assemblage visually dominated by soft corals, sponges, and hard corals.

Resources Impacted:

Hard and coft coral species assemblages, sponges and reef habitat.

Trustees:

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources DNER) and NOAA.