A study of recent shipwrecks found the South China Sea and the east Indies are among riskiest places for vessels to go down, UPI reported. The study, prepared by the World Wildlife Fund in advance of World Oceans Day, found there had been 293 shipping accidents in the South China Sea and east Indies since 1999, many with damaging effects to the environment. "The South China Sea and east Indies [is] home of the Coral Triangle and 76 per cent of the world's coral species," said Dr. Simon Walmsley, marine manger for WWF International. "As recently as April this year we've seen a Chinese fishing boat run aground on a protected coral reef in the Philippines that had already been damaged by a US Navy ship in January." The region features heavy industrial productivity, resulting in greater ship traffic. Ships frequently avoid long routes, ferrying between various countries on relatively short trips, meaning captains are less meticulous about route-planning, a cause of some accidents, the study concluded. Other shipwrecks were attributed to effects of global warming -- more extreme weather events, changing tides and wind patterns, and storm surges.
