GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Four hectares of coral reefs were damaged when a vessel carrying coal ran aground off the coast of Sarangani province.

The Panamanian-registered cargo vessel m/v Double Prosperity ran aground on Sunday at Bakud Reef off the coast of Kiamba town in Sarangani province, according to Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape area superintendent Dirie Macabaning.

Macabaning said his office initially placed the value of the damage caused by the incident on the reef at P30 million.

He said the reef is located 2.5 miles off the coast of Kiamba town in Sarangani province.

More than half of the m/v Double Prosperity remains stuck at a portion of Bakud Reef.

“Our inspection team has yet to complete their assessment but the reports so far showed that the damage on the reef was quite significant,” he told reporters.

Macabaning said the inspection team is being assisted by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) divers who expressed concern on the impact of the vessel’s grounding on the corals that usually take years to grow.

The Bakud Reef is part of Sarangani Bay’s protected marine sanctuary under Presidential Proclamation 756.

The vessel was carrying 65,900 metric tons of coal from Australia and was en route to India when it ran into the reef last Sunday.

Initial investigation conducted by the PCG said the grounding was caused by human error.