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First Cancun, Riviera Maya sargassum boat to arrive next month

Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz — The Secretary of the Navy says they have launched the first of the four vessels that will be built in its shipyards in Veracruz to collect the sargassum along Caribbean beaches.

The boat, along with its motors, are being tested on the Coatzacoalcos River. If all goes well, the first vessel is expected to be delivered to the Cancun, Riviera Maya region October 25.

La Secretaria de Marina (Semar) says they continue to work on the revamping of the ship Kelsol in the port of Manzanillo, Colima, which when finished, will be also assigned for sargassum duty along the Caribbean side of Mexico. It has already been renamed Sargacero Oceánico.

They report that during the first three weeks of September, crews have collected 5,793 tons of sargassum from landing on beaches in seven of the municipalities in Quintana Roo.

Semar adds that from May to September of this year, the Navy has collected 78,757 tons of sargassum in joint efforts with state, municipal and tourist service concession authorities that have involved more than 16,000 people in the collection and cleaning of seaweed.

Local sargassum analysis shows beaches being relatively clean of seaweed with Solidaridad with an affectation of 5 percent and considered “minimum”. In Benito Juárez (Cancun), beaches have an affectation of 15 percent due to a “slight increase in the landings”.

Puerto Morelos has an impact of 20 percent and Tulum 40 percent, the same percentage as in Othón P. Blanco where it is noted that the harvest continues.

Of the islands, Cozumel remains at 15 percent due to an increase in recent days, while on Isla Mujeres, there is no presence of sargassum at all.