Quito, Aug 8 (EFE).- The Ecuadorian Navy reported on Tuesday that it had removed a Panamanian-flagged merchant ship from the Galapagos marine reserve.
He explained that, through the HN-411 naval helicopter, he spotted a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship named “HSL MEXICO” that “entered the Galapagos archipelago from the west, before which and using surface means, it carried out an interdiction operation “.
In coordination with personnel from the Galapagos National Park, Navy personnel boarded and inspected the ship to determine if they were transporting protected species.
During the search of the warehouses, it was determined that it was transporting minerals (manganese), therefore, the exit from the marine reserve was authorized, it indicated in a statement.
He advanced that the environmental authority will determine the initiation of an administrative procedure within the scope of its powers.
The Galapagos archipelago is located about a thousand kilometers from the Ecuadorian continental coast and was declared in 1978 as a Natural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco. EFE
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