ECUADOR: AUTHORITIES SUGGEST LEAVING STRANDED OIL TANKER 'JESSICA' OFF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
Record ID:
344967
ECUADOR: AUTHORITIES SUGGEST LEAVING STRANDED OIL TANKER 'JESSICA' OFF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
- 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 commission yesterday that was a reasonable option (leaving ship there). They asked us for a range of options and we went from leaving it there, putting some absorbents in the tanks to collect any oil and then watching it, monitoring it, and perhaps using a little dispersant if they get a burp, or if they get a little bit of oil being discharged, dispersing it right there at the source. But monitoring it every day. That was our first option, and then options going all the way up to bringing in lots more equipment to remove the vessel. I told them my recommendation would be, leave it there." 1.04 5. SLV/MV INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE WORKERS WASHING OIL OFF PELICAN; SCU DIRTY WATER IN BASIN AFTER PELICAN'S BATH; PELICANS AT ANIMAL FACILITY (5 SHOTS) 2.04 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NICK JENKINS, INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE REPRESENTATIVE, SAYING: "We have been setting up this rehabilitation facility, and now that it is in place, 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. 2.21 7. MV SEALS ON ROCKS 2.30 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- 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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