Cancun, Q.R. — The Navy of Mexico has delivered the first of four sargassum vessels that will be used to collect seaweed in Caribbean coastal regions including Cancun and Playa del Carmen.
The sargassum vessel was delivered to a Cancun dock in Puerto Juarez and is part of the government’s strategy to contain the seaweed and prevent it from reaching Cancun, Riviera Maya shores.
In September, la Secretaría de Marina-Armada de México (Semar) reported the Fluitans sargasso vessel, which was the first to be built in marina shipyard No. 3 in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, would be delivered toward the end of October, however, delays kept that from happening.
Now, however, the vessel has been delivered after passing all buoyancy and operation tests, which were carried out along the Coatzacoalcos River. Three more vessels will eventually follow, all of which will be dedicated to at-sea sargassum collection for the entire coastal region.
The collection of the unwanted sargassum in Mexican Caribbean waters is a priority for the government who maintains naval personnel to support state and municipal governments in its collection.
State governor Carlos Joaquín González met with navy personnel in Puerto Juárez upon the delivery of the sargasso vessel.
In addition to the Fluitans, which is equipped with a collection belt and hydraulic motors, the Hystrix sargassum vessel is currently under construction and will be the next delivered. Vessels Cymosum and Vulgare, will be boats number three and four to be constructed in the navy shipyard for the purpose of collecting sargassum along the Cancun, Riviera Maya coasts when it arrives next season.
