KOTA KINABALU: An investigation has been ordered into a coral reef damaged by a barge ferrying building materials for a forward base at a popular dive site at Pulau Mabul in Sabah's east coast Semporna.

       Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said that the state's Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has been ordered to carry out the probe though the area did not come under the marine parks protection of Sabah Parks.

       “The EPD will look into this thoroughly to establish which of the terms under the mitigation measures ordered for the construction of the forward base were not observed.

       "EPD and also Sabah Parks will carry out a field assessment immediately,” he said, adding that Semporna district officials had also headed to the area on Saturday (June 26) to assess the overall situation.

       "A detailed investigation will be carried out by the EPD. We take this incident very seriously," Jafry said in a statement Saturday on the incident that occurred at Pulau Mabul, which is a springboard to the world famous diving destination of Pulau Sipadan.

       However, Jaffry said that neither Sabah Parks, the Sabah Wildlife Department nor the Fisheries Department had any provisions under their respective laws to take action against the barge operator behind the damage to the corals at the dive site known as Paradise One.

       "It is difficult to enforce the laws for reefs damaged outside of protected areas," he said, adding that they will be studying the laws to see if any appropriate environmental action could be taken under the current laws against the errant barge operator.

       Jafry said a contractor was delivering building materials for a forward base under the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) by barge when the incident occurred on June 24.

       The EPD had given the go-ahead for the forward base project on Feb 8 after the contractor submitted various mitigation measures.

       Jafriy said he was saddened that the reef, which had taken hundreds of years to grow and was home to rich marine life, had been destroyed.

       "Mabul island is part of the many islands with well-known dive sites in Semporna. It is an attraction for our tourism industry," he added.

       Dive resort operators immediately highlighted the incident to the media on Friday (June 25).

       They said the Paradise One was home to rare species of coral and an attraction for divers.

       The barge has since been removed from the site.

       Jafry said that steps to restore the damaged corals will be done immediately after the damage is assessed.

       “It is important to carry out early restoration immediately to re-position the damaged reefs so they can survive. My ministry and I will continue to monitor the situation and the restoration process from time to time,” Jafry said.