Luxury massive yacht owned by Microsoft co-founder and marine conservationist Paul Allen destroyed most of a protected coral reef during a visit to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean earlier this month. The MV Tatoosh, Allen’s 300 ft yacht ripped up 14,000 square feet of coral reef in the West Bay replenishment zone and damaged more than 80 percent of the coral in the area. It is thought that Allen was not on board at the time.
Vulcan, the investment firm of Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, released a statement about the incident which occured on January 14th: “When [the MV Tatoosh] crew was alerted by a diver that her anchor chain may have impacted coral in the area, the crew promptly, and on their own accord, relocated their position to ensure the reef was protected,” adding that the crew was aiding investigations into the damage.
Ironically, the damage to the coral, which is vital for marine life, comes five months after the billionaire philanthropist announced support for research to stabilize and restore coral reefs.