Due to some political and bureaucratic issues arising from the labeling of the situation as a “crime scene”, the environmental tragedy that is the shipwreck at Bali’s famed Padang Padang has moved from a recovery phase to a damage control and clean-up phase. It is a sad development because much of the damage that will take place as the abandoned Taiwanese fishing trawler is battered and beaten against the reef, could have been avoided if proper action had taken place in a timely manner. When the boat was first discovered aground on the reef at Padang-Padang, it posed only a minor danger and could easily have been towed off the reef and to a nearby harbor, as there were no obvious signs of damage to the hull. Following a solid swell over the weekend, the ship has taken some huge hits on the reef and is currently wedged up against the rocks at Padang Padang where it will break apart as large swells continue to come in.

Padang Padang is a truly special area and because of this there has been an outpouring of people wanting to know how they can help. Any local and international individuals and businesses who would like to join in giving their support are being directed towards the ROLE Foundation, who have taken on the project and have coordinated most of the efforts thus far. They are keeping a very informative blog covering the situation at Padang Padang that you can check out at rolefoundation.org.

Here’s to hoping that with all of our efforts we can still make the best out of what has become a very ugly situation at Padang Padang.

Posted by Shaun on Monday, July 21st, 2008 in Surfing.

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