State tourism, culture and environment minister Jafry Ariffin said he has instructed the state Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to probe the incident in detail.

Jafry, however, explained that the site was not located in an area protected by either Sabah Parks or the state Wildlife Department.

As such, it was difficult for the authorities to take action.

“This makes it difficult for the law to be enforced.

“The Fisheries Department does not have the jurisdiction to address damage to reefs outside of protected areas as this is not provided for under the Fisheries Act 1985,” he said in a statement here today.

“If there is any loophole in terms of jurisdiction or enforcement, this will be dealt with to ensure every corner of Sabah will have laws on protection and enforcement, particularly involving the environment.”

Jafry said early investigations found that the barge was involved in a project to build the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) front operation base at the island.

Based on the records by the EPD, the green light was given for the construction of the base after a proposal for mitigation measures (PMM) report was submitted last Feb 8.

Jafry said he viewed the damage to the coral reef at Mabul Island seriously.

“This has destroyed the reef which has taken hundreds of years to grow and is also home to various marine life.

“Moreover, the waters off the island are an attraction for the scuba diving industry.

“The EPD will look into this to establish which of the terms in the PPM were violated. The department and Sabah Parks will carry out a field assessment immediately,” he said.

The Semporna district office and other enforcement agencies visited the site this morning.

Yesterday, resort operators and conservationists said the damage caused by the giant barge took place in the early hours of the morning at Paradise One, which is one of Mabul’s famous dive sites.

The site is favoured by many international divers, and is also home to rare species of coral – many of which were identified in WWF-Semporna’s prestigious Hard Coral Mapping Project.

A resort manager on the island, who requested anonymity, said they had tried to intervene, adding they spoke to the contractor based on the island and explained that the barge was too big to land safely on Mabul.

They explained that the draft of the barge was larger than the water space available even at high tide and that if the contractor tried to land the barge, it would get stuck on the coral reef and cause considerable damage.

But the contractor did not heed his advice or warnings, the manager said.

Jafry said the barge had now been removed from the site.

He said restoration measures will be taken on the affected reef by the agencies under his ministry, particularly Sabah Parks, which has experience in such work.

“My ministry and I will continue to monitor the situation and the restoration process from time to time,” Jafry said.