Sargassum Skimmers Deteriorating Early

As Belize’s coastal communities’ braces for sargassum impacts, especially on Ambergris Caye, questions are being raised about the condition of the two harvesters or skimmers purchased in 2025. The two harvesters were deployed in the thick of the 2025 sargassum season and they were hailed as a critical milestone in the Ministry of Blue Economy’s strategy. Ahead of the 2026 sargassum season, Minister of Blue Economy Andre Perez told News Five that the harvesters are being serviced and prepared. Well, these images obtained by News Five show that the machines are already showing signs of exterior deterioration within the span of a year. When we reached out to Minister Perez today for comments, he said that the harvesters will be ready to work along with other machinery brought in by the Sargassum Task Force. We will continue to follow.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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