Port Authority, Environment Department investigate grounded US Coast Guard catamarans Excellent!Very GoodGoodFairPoor Rating: (0 votes) Posted: 28/05/2009 - 08:01 PM Author: Aaron Humes The masters of two double-hulled sailing catamarans that apparently ran aground on a series of coral patches near the Belize Barrier Reef last week Tuesday face possible liability as a result, after the Port Authority detained their vessels today.   Amandala confirmed with investigator for the Port Authority, Russell Lainfiesta, last week that the catamarans, named Imagine and Dreamer, which were tied to a buoy located north-northeast of San Pedro Town on Ambergris Caye and lashed to each other, apparently dislodged from their positions during a storm last Monday night and caused damage to the corals in the process.   Lainfiesta told Amandala on Thursday evening that the motor vessels were hosting a party of 18 — members of the church group Youth With A Mission (YWAM) — with recreational activities in the area. The vessels, registered to the United States Coast Guard, conduct such tours on a regular basis.   Dreamer and Imagine, both measuring 46 feet in length and 24 feet in width and drawing three and a half feet of water, left San Pedro on May 17 for their buoys, where their captains, Dirk Metcalf and Christopher William Toney, secured their vessels for the night.   Around 9:00 p.m. on May 18, a storm caused the metal hook attaching the Imagine to the concrete-based buoy to break, causing the ship to dislodge and drift into, then run aground on, the corals, dragging the Dreamer behind it.   The area affected, located some 6 miles due east of San Pedro Town, measures 27 square meters, but the corals are scattered, and some escaped damage.   Lainfiesta tells us that he will forward his report to Ports Commissioner Major Lloyd Jones, who will determine the cause of the crash and make recommendation to the DOE on whether to assess charges and penalties, and against whom.