A dive boat sank on Saturday in the Galapagos archipelago, a biodiversity sanctuary off Ecuador, and a “shallow fuel slick” has, according to authorities, spread around the sinking site for reasons still unknown.
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Preventive measures were immediately taken to avoid a scattering of the diesel contained in the tanks, indicated the management of the Galapagos National Park on social networks.
“In response to the sinking of a dive boat in Academia Bay, park rangers placed containment and dispersal barriers to limit potential negative environmental impacts. The shipowner will carry out salvage actions, on the basis of the emergency protocol”, is it written on the Twitter account of the Park.
Photos posted with the text show floating dikes sitting on the water and rainbow streaks on the water and sand from the fuel spill.
The Ministry of the Environment estimates in a press release that the boat “contained 2,000 gallons (approximately 7,500 liters) of diesel at the time of the incident” on the island of Santa Cruz, specifying that due to “the presence of a superficial fuel slick on the surface at several points in the bay, aquatic activities have been suspended at certain tourist sites”.
The state oil company Petroecuador had earlier said in a statement that the “private vessel Albatros” was carrying “diesel” without specifying the quantity and that the four crew members are safe and sound.
The Galapagos Islands are classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for their unique fauna and flora in the world, and are part of the World Biosphere Reserve.
The Ecuadorian archipelago, which inspired English naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, has 198,000 km2 of marine protected area since a recent expansion of 60,000 km2 in January.
In December 2019, a barge containing approximately 600 gallons (2,200 liters) of diesel sank on San Cristobal Island, also in the Galapagos, causing an unquantified spill that the government says had no impact on wildlife.