Bulker grounds at Tristan da Cunha

Bulker grounds at Tristan da Cunha    The British Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha calls itself the “home to 263 British citizens living in the world’s most isolated settlement,” according to a government-maintained Web site.
   But the remote volcanic island, located 1,750 miles from South Africa and 2,088 miles from South America, is facing what its government says is an “environmental disaster,” following the grounding of a dry bulk ship carrying a load of soybeans on nearby Nightingale Island on March 16.
   The government said all 22 crew on the 75,300-deadweight-ton Oliva were rescued by March 17, but that the ship “broke her back in the force of a relentless swell” on Friday morning.
   The island’s three man conservation group reports Rockhopper Penguins presently coming ashore are smothered in oil on Nightingale Island, and that the timing of accident is unfortunate because with its southern hemisphere location, “this late summer season is crucial as all adults are flying daily from their nests to catch fish, squid etc., to feed their rapidly maturing chicks.”
   The government adds that “another concern is the impact that the ship’s cargo of 60,000 tons of whole raw soya beans will have on the fragile local marine environment, especially any long-term effect on the economically valuable fishing industry for crawfish, crayfish or Tristan Rock Lobster (Jasus tristani) which is the mainstay of Tristan da Cunha’s economy.”
   A heavy-duty salvage tug from South Africa is expected to arrive at Nightingale Monday. But the government said, “it is thought there will be little to salvage and that the task now is essentially a clean-up operation. It is understood the total load of unprocessed whole soya beans was 65,266 tons and the vessel was carrying about 1,400 tons of fuel oil. Crucially the tug will assess how much soya and oil remains aboard and what effect any spill has had or will have on the fragile marine ecosystem and the valuable local fishing industry.”
   Additional information and photographs can be found here.