Alert after the sinking of a boat carrying diesel in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
The Ecuadorian authorities launched this Saturday a contingency plan and environmental remediation after registering a shipwreck in a sector of the Santa Cruz Island, in the heart of galapagos archipelagowhere an alert was activated before a possible diesel spill.
The Galapagos National Park Directorate (PNG) reported in a statement that the tourist vessel “Albatros” was shipwrecked in Academia Bay, on Santa Cruz Island, in response to which “immediate actions were taken to reduce the impact of the incident on marine ecosystems.”
In the affected area “containment barriers, sausages and absorbent cloths were placed to isolate the fuel released by the sunken vessel” and that it is estimated that it could have contained about 2,000 gallons of diesel at the time of its sinking, the source added.
In addition, the PNG indicated that, upon confirming the presence of a “surface fuel stain in various points of the bay”, aquatic activities were suspended on some visitor sites Santa Cruz.
Groups of park rangers of the PNG have led the operations for the application of “biodegradable dispersant in affected areas”with the objective of collect the fuel that could have been spilled into the sea, he added.
Likewise, the PNG indicated that the shipowner or owner of the sunken ship, which belongs to a private company, has been “notified” about the activation of the contingency plan and the derived processes in accordance with current legal regulations.
The Ministry of the Environment, of which the PNG is a part, “will maintain permanent vigilance to overcome the situation” and will verify the “cleanup and remedial actions that are necessary,” he added.
In December 2019, a barge containing 600 gallons of diesel sank off the island San Cristobal, the easternmost of the archipelago, which activated a contingency plan to protect the delicate ecosystems of the archipelago located about a thousand kilometers west of the continental coasts of Ecuador.
Also, in 2001, a small oil tanker ran aground near Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the capital of San Cristóbal and the province of Galapagos, when it was transporting some 900 tons of fuel, an event that contaminated several surrounding areas due to the spillage of more than 600,000 liters of diesel.
The Galapagos are considered a natural sanctuary for its rich biodiversity, with unique species on the planet, which earned it the declaration in 1978 as the first Natural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.