Yinson Miri recently sponsored and participated in the installation of mooring lines and buoys at 5 diving sites in the Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park, Miri. Yinson Miri Operations Manager, Bogdan Lefter and Finance Team Lead, Joanna Teo, alongside other volunteer divers from Sarawak Forestry Corporation and Miri Divers installed the 5 mooring lines and buoys at Nemo City, Anemone Garden, Kenyalang, North Siwa, and Batu Belais diver sites.
The mooring lines and buoys would allow diving boats to connect the installed lines instead of dropping anchors, reducing the risk of damaging the corals underneath. Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth, supporting more species per unit area than any other marine environment. They serve to protect coastlines from storms and erosion as well as support local communities and businesses through subsistence fisheries, tourism, and recreation. Coral reefs are considered the ‘medicine cabinets’ of the 21st century, with more than half of all new cancer drug research related to marine organisms, many of which can be found on coral reefs.
Bogdan commented, “Yinson Miri started our conservation and restoration efforts in Miri waters with the arrival of FPSO Helang in 2019, it has now become our annual tradition. We are committed to continuing our marine biodiversity conservation efforts and promoting the sustainable use of our oceans.”
The operation marks the fourth consecutive year of Yinson Miri’s continuous efforts to protect and restore the local marine ecosystem, aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (“SDG”) 14 commitment, Life Below Water. The ghost net removal activities carried out by Miri communities in the past years were effective with reefs observed to be cleaner now.
