(UKPA) Google News 21 Mar 11;
A wrecked ship is threatening to cause an environmental disaster on an island which is home to endangered penguins, conservationists have warned.
The vessel has grounded on Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha UK overseas territory in the South Atlantic, causing an oil slick around the island which is home to nearly half the world's population of northern rockhopper penguins.
Some 1,500 tonnes of heavy crude oil from the MS Olivia, which was shipping soya beans between Rio de Janeiro and Singapore, is leaking into the sea.
According to the RSPB, oil now surrounds Nightingale Island and extends into a slick eight-miles offshore, threatening the endangered penguins and the economically important rock lobster fishery.
Hundreds of penguins have already been seen coming ashore covered in oil, said the wildlife charity.
The shipwreck could also lead to any rats onboard colonising the island and posing a huge risk to the native seabird populations - whose chicks and eggs could be eaten by the invasive rodents.
The Tristan da Cunha islands, in particular Nightingale and its neighbour Middle Island, are home to millions of nesting seabirds and there are more than 200,000 northern rockhopper penguins on the island.
RSPB research biologist Richard Cuthbert said: "The consequences of this wreck could be potentially disastrous for wildlife and the fishery-based economy of these remote islands.
"Nightingale is one of two large islands in the Tristan da Cunha group that are rodent-free. If rats gain a foothold their impact would be devastating."
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Tristan conservation officer Trevor Glass said: "The scene at Nightingale is dreadful as there is an oil slick encircling the island. Members of the Tristan conservation team are doing all they can to clean up the penguins that are currently coming ashore. It is a disaster."
Race to save oil slicked penguins on remote British island
Yahoo News 24 Mar 11;
CAPE TOWN (AFP) – A race to rescue up to 20,000 endangered penguins from an oil spill in an isolated south Atlantic British island group was underway Thursday after a cargo ship ran aground.
Oil-slicked Rockhopper penguins were being collected and taken off three Tristan da Cunha islands to the main island to be stored in a shed for treatment, cleaning and eventual release.
"Five hundred Rockhoppers were brought ashore on Tristan this morning," Tristin da Cunha administrator Sean Burns said in an online statement.
But specialist cleaning fluid was in short supply and hinged on a second ship being chartered from Cape Town, a journey of several days over 2,800 kilometres (1,740 miles), after a salvage vessel arrived on Monday.
"A crucial next step is to confirm a second vessel to depart from Cape Town in the next few days with all the necessary equipment and supplies to clean up the birds, keep them healthy and hopefully return them to the ocean," said Burns.
"It will be a race against time," he added.
The MS Oliva ran aground on Nightingale island on March 16 skippered by a Greek captain and carrying a crew of 21 Filipinos who were rescued safely. It has since broken in two main parts.
"Unfortunately, the birds cannot be fed in captivity until a ship can travel from South Africa with a load of frozen fish, along with an experienced cleaning team and other essential supplies," said John Cooper of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels in Australia.
"News of this 'second vessel' and its sailing date is still awaited," he said in a statement.
The archipelago is the home to most of the world's Rockhopper penguins which are classed endangered, with Burns saying Wednesday he hoped an earlier estimate of 20,000 affected penguins would prove to be too high.
Tristan da Cunha is an active volcanic island with 263 British residents described as the most isolated community in the world on the islands' website and has no hotels, airport, night clubs, restaurants, or safe sea swimming.
