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San Cristobal Island News

25 Aug 2016

This Day In Naval History: August 25

1864 - CSS Tallahassee, commanded by Cmdr. John Taylor Wood, returns to Wilmington, N.C. to refuel on coal. During her more than two week raid, CSS Tallahassee destroys 26 vessels and captures seven others. 1927 - USS Los Angeles (ZR 3) rises to a near-vertical position due to the sudden arrival of a cold air front that lifts the airships tail, causing it to rise before she can swing around the mast parallel to the new wind direction. Los Angeles only suffers minor damage but the affair demonstrates the risks involved with high mooring masts. 1943 - Depth charges from USS Patterson (DD 392) sink the Japanese submarine RO-35, 170 miles southeast of San Cristobal Island, Solomon Islands.

23 Jan 2001

Galapagos: Oil Transfer Hits Hitch

The transfer of the remaining oil from the wrecked oil tanker Jessica, which has spilt about 160,000 gallons of oil into the fragile ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands, has run into difficulties, according to Lloyds agents. "The army tanker arrived yesterday but the transfer operation is not possible because they cannot place the vessel close enough," Reuters reported. "According to latest news, the (Jessica) is now turned 45 degrees," it said. The report said only 40,000 gallons of oil remained on board the stranded tanker. It said the spill was affecting several bays of the Santa Fe, Santa Cruz and San Cristobal islands. The Galapagos Islands…

22 Jan 2001

Grounded Ship Threaten Pristine Environ

The global conservation body WWF called on Sunday for limits to shipping off Ecuador's Galapagos islands where oil pouring from a grounded tanker is threatening some of the world's rarest land and sea animals and birds. A statement from the Swiss-based World Wide Fund for Nature said the spill could have "a deep and lasting impact" on the creatures of Galapagos which were observed by British naturalist Charles Darwin as he developed the theory of evolution 165 years ago. The damaged vessel, the Ecuadorean-registered Jessica, ran aground last Tuesday half a mile (800 m) from the archipelago's main port in its easternmost San Cristobal island while its way to service an Ecuadorean navy operation and a private tour boat operator.

29 Jan 2001

Galapagos’ Latest Natural Wonder … Jessica?

It seems that the stricken oil tanker that fouled Charles Darwin's Galapagos island paradise cannot be moved and is set to become an artificial reef, teeming with fish and home to seals and exotic birds, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday. The Ecuadorean Navy had hoped to clear the semi-submerged "Jessica" from the tiny harbor of San Cristobal island where it ran aground last week, leaking the bulk of its 240,000 gallon fuel cargo into the archipelago's pristine waters. But while 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, Coast Guard salvage chief Ed Stanton said. "Seals will start living on it, birds will begin perching on it. It has already attracted fish," Stanton said.

25 Jan 2001

Captain Takes Blame For Galapagos Grounding

Tarquino Arevalo, captain of the Ecuadorean-registered Jessica which last week fouled the Galapagos waters with oil after running aground, told Reuters he had misjudged his entry into the prophetically named Shipwreck Bay outside the tiny harbor of San Cristobal island. "The truth is I didn't even know the rock was there. It was over-confidence on my part, I am completely to blame," the 58-year-old sailor said in an interview. "I didn't do it on purpose. This has nothing to do with my crew, it was my fault, not theirs," he added. The Galapagos are home to birds, tropical fish, sea lions and the famous Galapagos giant tortoises, but the only known damage so far to wildlife has been four dead pelicans and a dozen sea lions smeared with oil.