By Page Six Team From Page Six

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is fighting with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment after his $162 million mega-yacht Tatoosh allegedly destroyed 13,800 square feet of coral reef.

While the philanthropist has donated millions to ocean conservation, Allen’s company is disputing the Cayman government’s claim that his luxury yacht is to blame for wrecking a protected reef. Local officials said the massive anchor and chain wiped out most of the coral in the area on the western coast of Grand Cayman on Jan. 14.

“Initial figures place the damaged area at 1,200 square meters . . . with 80 percent of the coral within that area destroyed,” the Department of Environment said last month.

Now a new report says that Allen’s company Vulcan Inc. is even questioning if the Tatoosh caused the damage. “Vulcan Inc., the owner of the MV Tatoosh, disputes the DoE’s initial assessment of the scale of the damage and furthermore questions whether the MV Tatoosh is the source of the damage” DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said, according to the Cayman News.

Work has already begun to restore and reattach the damaged coral. But, “Because Vulcan continues to disagree with the scale and source of damage, as well as the length of time required for the restoration effort, details of the remediation plan have not been finalized,” Ebanks-Petrie added.

Vulcan hired coral reef restoration firm Polaris Applied Sciences Inc., who were on site February 14. But Allen’s company blames the Cayman government for delaying crucial work to save the reef. Vulcan said in a statement, “We continue to impress on the department the urgency of approving the full remediation plan so that work may continue. The department has yet to do so . . . thereby delaying repair of the coral. There is nothing more important than the pressing need to save and restore the damaged coral, and Paul Allen and Vulcan continue to stand ready to do our part.”

Allen could face a fine, his crew could be criminally prosecuted and his beloved yacht could be seized if they are found to be to blame.

Allen’s company Vulcan Inc. said in a new statement, “Paul G. Allen and Vulcan’s focus is on repairing the coral, and we have stood ready and willing to do so for more than two weeks in the area identified by the Caymans Islands Department of Environment and its experts. We are ready to put aside issues of liability, to be resolved later, to fix the coral now before it degrades further. By contrast, the Department has continued to delay approving or implementing action on the remediation plan, while attempting to impose broad obligations on Vulcan that have no basis in Caymanian law.

“The issues cited by the Cayman government as reasons for the continued delay are insufficient to prevent this remediation from moving ahead. We have agreed on the methodology to be followed, the physical area to be repaired, and the materials to be used. We once again call on the Department to join us now in the repair effort of the coral reef, which is the most pressing matter at this time.”

IMAGE: Paul Allen Photo: AP

For more on this story go to: http://pagesix.com/2016/02/20/paul-allen-fights-cayman-islands-on-claim-that-his-yacht-destroyed-reef/