ECUADOR: AUTHORITIES SUGGEST LEAVING STRANDED OIL TANKER 'JESSICA' OFF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Record ID: 344967

  • Title: ECUADOR: AUTHORITIES SUGGEST LEAVING STRANDED OIL TANKER 'JESSICA' OFF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
  • Date: 30th January 2001
  • Summary: GALAPAGOS, ISLANDS (JANUARY 28, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. GV ISLAND WITH STRANDED SHIP, JESSICA, IN BACKGROUND; SLV STRANDED SHIP (3 SHOTS) 0.14 3. SLV/MV U.S. COAST GUARD COMMANDER, EDWIN STATON, SPEAKING ON TELEPHONE (2 SHOTS) 0.17 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) EDWIN STATON, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD, SAYING "I recommended to the investigation commis
  • Embargoed: 14th February 2001 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, ECUADOR
  • Country: Ecuador
  • Reuters ID: LVADDDVQH51NKUPSY5FK3MGP20WV
  • Story Text: Authorities have recommended leaving the stranded oil
    tanker, Jessica, off the Galapagos Islands where it ran
    aground in the hope it will become an artificial reef teeming
    with fish, seals and exotic birds.

    Meanwhile, conservationists have continued to try and save
    the animals affected by the oil spill.

    According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the stricken oil
    tanker that fouled Charles Darwin's Galapagos island paradise
    cannot be moved and is set to become an artificial reef
    "I told them my recommendation would be, leave it there,"
    said U.S. Coast Guard Commander Edwin Staton.

    Although the wreck may be an eyesore in the prophetically
    named "Shipwreck Bay," in time it will become an artificial
    reef and a new habitat for marine life.

    The Ecuadorian Navy had hoped to clear the semi-submerged
    "Jessica" from the tiny harbour of San Cristobal island where
    it ran aground last week, leaking the bulk of its 240,000
    gallon (908,496 litres) fuel cargo into the archipelago's
    pristine waters.

    However they were forced to abandon their efforts to move
    the stricken tanker because they did not have the right
    equipment and the hull was in such poor condition.

    According to authorities, the spilled oil and chemical
    dispersants have nearly all been washed out to sea. By Sunday
    (January 28) only a thin sheen of oil around the boat could
    be seen - lessening the the ecological urgency to remove the
    vessel.

    The clean-up effort has been focused on capturing sea
    lions and birds worst affected by the spill in the island
    cluster 19th century British naturalist Darwin called
    "enchanted".

    Many exotic species including iguanas, flightless
    cormorants, sea lions and the famous Galapagos giant tortoises
    -- a mix that inspired Darwin to devise his theory of
    evolution -- have largely escaped contamination. Just two
    pelicans have been found dead.

    Forty other pelicans and a few sea lion pups were soiled,
    but the search for more animals affected by the spill was
    likely to go on for weeks.

    Conservationists from the International Fund for Animal
    Welfare (IFAW) set up a rehabilitation center for the animals
    of the Galapagos islands.

    "We've started to collect the oiled birds, which so far
    have just been pelicans. They bring them here so we can
    stabilize them, clean them, and then when they're okay, in a
    few days time, they'll be released," said IFAW representative,
    Nick Jenkins.

    The animal species of the islands have evolved in their
    natural habitat for thousands of years in isolation some 600
    miles (965 kilometres) off the Ecuadorian mainland.




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