Owner of yacht fined MVR 4.8 million for running aground on ADh. Atoll reef

The owner of a yacht has been fined MVR 4.8 million for environmental damages caused after the vessel ran aground on a reef in ADh. Atoll.

The yacht, named "M.Y Big Fish" owned by Temple Marine Ltd, which arrived in the Maldives under the local agency of Seal Maldives Yacht Support Pvt Ltd, ran aground on the RF1329 reef in ADh. Atoll on 28 April 2025. The yacht was refloated from the reef the following day.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that following the incident, a joint survey was conducted on 4 June 2025 at the site where the yacht ran aground, together with surveyors appointed by the vessel's owner to assess the damages to the reef. The assessment revealed that an area of 187 square meters of the reef sustained severe damage and was destroyed, according to the EPA.

Based on the survey, the owner of the grounded vessel, Temple Marine Ltd, was fined MVR 4,889,450.00 (four million eight hundred and eighty-nine thousand four hundred and fifty Maldivian Rufiyaa) on 4 August 2025 for the damages caused to the reef environment. The EPA stated that the yacht's owner has been instructed to pay the fine to the agency within 30 days.

The yacht's owner was fined under the Regulation on Determining Fines and Compensation for Environmental Damages, formulated under the Maldives Environmental Protection and Preservation Act. If the yacht's owner fails to pay the determined fine amount, the state has the authority to seek compensation through the courts.