The Belizean government is investigating charges against the 145-foot Cheoy Lee Summerwind and its captain for damaging a reef outside San Pedro.

The incident occurred March 29 in a popular local dive spot just outside the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, a national marine park.

Summerwind dropped anchor there, possibly hitting the reef with it. The anchor's chain damaged hard and soft coral as well as sponges.

"There is tremendous damage," said Billy Leslie, chairman of the San Pedro Tour Guide Association, which represents dive and fishing tour operators. "Big, big pieces were broken off. You can't fix that."

No anchoring is allowed in the area, not even by small boats, said Ismael Fabro, chief environmental officer with the Belize Department of Environment.

Two mooring sites are near the incident site, including a mooring buoy within 100 yards, Leslie said. An underwater mooring area is also nearby and known to most locals.

"He went right between two mooring buoys and dropped anchor," Fabro said. "Any captain that has a navigational chart and even basic training would know you don't drop anchor that near to a reef. He had to have seen the buoys."

"Does it make sense to you," said Rupert Connor, spokesman for the yacht, "that a professional crew would drop anchor 10 feet from where an agent or port authority told them there was a mooring?"

Connor is president of Luxury Yacht Group in Ft. Lauderdale, the yacht's management company. He said neither he nor the yacht received any guidelines “written or verbal“ of where the crew could or could not anchor.

"Yes, we're aware of the incident," Connor said. "The crew responded and we've tried to reply as best we can. ... Give me rules and regulations or some kind of map; I can comply with that. But if you can't give me rules, how can I comply?"

According to Connor, the captain presented himself to port authority officials after the incident and was told to stay in the country for 48 hours so they could assess the damage and determine if charges should be filed.

Fabro said he requested and received a no-sail order from the Belize Port Authority. Connor understood that to be valid for 48 hours.

Five days later, after having heard nothing from government officials, the yacht departed Belize to keep its charter schedule.

"We didn't arrest him because we were investigating," Fabro said. "We were in the process of assessing the damage and determining which charges were to be filed when the vessel skipped the country."

Connor objected to the interpretation that Summerwind "skipped the country," saying the captain made himself available for five days when he was told to remain for two.

Summerwind was in Ft. Lauderdale soon after the incident and was headed to the Mediterranean in late April for its summer charter schedule.

Nicola Cho, legal counsel with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said she was unsure when her investigation into the matter would conclude.

Though local Belizean newspapers named officials -- including Cho -- saying they planned to file a lawsuit against the yacht and its captain, Cho would not confirm that.

"We're looking at what's available to us to deal with the situation," she said, declining to comment further.

Belize owns the largest portion of the Mezoamerican Barrier Reef, which is the second largest reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

"Most of the captains who pass through here are aware of how to travel around the reef," Leslie said. "They get a briefing by the Port Authority. But this boat, the captain had no respect for this country or its heritage and went and dropped an anchor wherever he wanted."

Summerwind entered Belizean waters on March 16. In a letter to the Department of the Environment, Leslie wrote that Summerwind moved from its safe anchor harbor in front of San Pedro Town to a site on the outer side of the reef where much scuba diving takes place, directly in front of Ramon's Village.

The yacht released its anchor and about 200 feet of chain in about 70 feet of water, he wrote.

The anchor ripped off a large section of coral, and the chain then started to break off big sections of hard coral, soft coral and sponges as it moved from side to side, swayed by underwater currents.

The damaged area measured 200 feet north to south and 250 feet east to west. The yacht remained on the reef until Wednesday morning, March 30, he wrote.

"The San Pedro Tour Guide Association would like to see that this individual be taken to court and prosecuted for this tremendous damage," Leslie wrote. "The SPTGA is demanding that all authorities take the proper actions against such careless destruction and fines be set high."

Summerwind was in that area seeking a safer harbor after it damaged its props during low tide in an area inside the reef where the agent told the yacht to go, Connor said.

"If the boat was in the wrong place, then ultimately the captain is at fault and fines should be paid," he said. "We fully intend to take responsibility for the damage."

Information from the San Pedro Sun supplemented this report.