Ecuador: Galapagos National Park said the boat was used for a scuba diving excursion.
Quito, Ecuador:
A scuba diving boat sank Saturday in one of Ecuador’s ecologically sensitive Galapagos Islands, but the damage was minor and no one was hurt, officials said.
The environment ministry said the boat contained about 47 barrels of diesel fuel, leaving a “superficial” rind.
The sinking was first reported by state-run oil company Petrocuador, which did not specify how much fuel would have spilled.
The Galapagos National Park confirmed the sinking of the ship, the Albatross, and said it was used for scuba diving excursions in the waters of the islands, which are a protected natural heritage site.
The company said container booms have been installed around the area of the accident in an effort to control the leak.
Four crew members on board the ship are safe.
The national park suspended tourism activities around the city of Puerto Ayora, where its headquarters are located.
Located in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (600 mi) off the coast of Ecuador, and famous for its giant tortoises, the Galapagos is a protected wildlife area and home to unique species of flora and fauna.
The archipelago was made famous by British geologist and naturalist Charles Darwin’s observations of evolution there.
The Galapagos Marine Reserve, in which industrial fishing is prohibited, is the second largest in the world. More than 2,900 marine species have been reported within the archipelago, which is a Natural World Heritage Site.
In 2019, a barge carrying a small amount of diesel sank off another Galapagos island, San Cristobal, causing a small leak but the damage was negligible.
In 2001 another Ecuadorian flagged vessel carrying 240,000 gallons of fuel also sank off San Cristobal. That spill caused environmental damage that harmed many marine species.
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