U.S. Seizes Greek Vessel, Sues Over Damage to Florida Coral

The U.S. government seized a Greek freighter Sunday and filed a suit accusing the crew of negligence for allowing the ship to run aground on a coral reef in the Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary, causing extensive damage.

The 470-foot Elpis hit Elbow Reef about 5 miles east of Key Largo late Friday. It was the third such grounding in as many weeks in the environmentally sensitive keys. The freighter was carrying 2,000 tons of sugar from the Netherlands to Tampico, Mexico, when it ran aground on a favorite reef for divers and fishermen.

“It’s one of the five most popular reefs,” said Mike White, manager of the sanctuary. “It sticks farther out into the Gulf Stream than the other reefs. The damage is really extensive over a large area. The framework of the old reef is fractured.”

Three biologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration snorkled around the reef Sunday to survey damage.

“Big ships like this one do a lot more long-term damage because they not only destroy areas of living coral, but also a lot of areas where coral might settle in the future become unsuitable,” he said.

The reefs, which took thousands of years to form, are all part of the Florida Reef Tract, the largest and the only living reef system in North America, sanctuary documents show.

The Elpis is deep-anchored near the Port of Miami because port officials could not find a slip deep enough for the vessel, which was floated free at high tide Saturday.

The U.S. attorney’s office filed a civil complaint seeking unspecified monetary damages, spokeswoman Diane Cossin said. The suit alleged that the crew was negligent and that navigational devices were defective. All the officers on the bridge at the time tested negative for alcohol use, White said.

The 155-foot freighter Alec Owen Maitland ran aground in the Key Largo sanctuary Oct. 25. The Coast Guard has said an unlicensed mate at the helm failed two blood-alcohol tests.

On Oct. 30, the Yugoslavian freighter Mavro Vetranic struck a reef in the Dry Tortugas. The second officer was at the helm when the ship grounded in the Ft. Jefferson National Monument about 70 miles west of Key West. The U.S. attorney’s office has filed a $9-million lawsuit against the owner of the Yugoslavian vessel, charging negligence.