Tristan da Cunha Flotsam and Jetsam

Oil Platform Investigated on 8th June
Containing report from Chief Islander Anne Green Friday 9th June 2006
The Search and Rescue RIBs were coxswained by Agriculture Officer Neil Swain and Police Inspector Conrad Glass, and crewed by Mark Swain, Duncan Lavarello, Joseph Green, Leon Glass and Jack Green accompanied by Head of Natural Resources James Glass and Conservation Officer Simon Glass. They inspected the huge oil rig marooned on a reef some 250 - 300 metres offshore from Trypot Beach. The beach is named after a Trypot erected in the early 19th Century to 'try' the fat from the thousands of Antarctic Fur Seals and Southern Elephant Seals hunted and killed by early settlers on Tristan da Cunha's wild shores.
The only sign of environmental damage was a small diesel oil-slick and no apparent sign that the rig had been broken up by recent storms. Rockhopper Penguins, who normally occupy on-shore sites for breeding between August - December (laying eggs in September) and for moulting between January - March (see Penguins Page).
The Island's fishing season will begin on 1st July and it will be interesting to assess any effect the stranded oil rig will have on the reef environment which supports the crawfish (see fishing page and fishing news page) and other marine biota.

Monday 10th July - Edited news bulletin from Salvage Master Ian Carrasco
Strong winds over the weekend have continued to prevent access to A Turtle, and today there are strong South West winds and heavy seas. It is thought seas will moderate tomorrow, meanwhile the tug Zouros Hellas has anchored at the Tristan Settlement anchorage and some of the crew are spending a few hours ashore.
The tug Sea Tiger's departure from Cape Town has been further delayed.

August 2006 - Tristan waits for news
Tristan da Cunha awaits the return of the salvors when a tug (s) of sufficient pull (200 tonnes +) become available. We learn that all are presently on long-term charter, but that 3 will become available in the second half of September, so that a float attempt is not now likely until early October, weather permitting.
The salvors have thanked the Islanders for their support and assistance during the attempted salvage operation. They have also assured the community that the rig only contains small quantities of pollutants, all safely contained on the upper decks of the rig, 15 metres above the waterline. The emergency generator on the second deck contains some 600 litres of gas oil, contained in a tank in the generator compartment. Most other oils and lubricants are contained in 25 litre containers and 210 litre drums.
Islanders have been warned to stay away from the rig, as it is nearly 40 years old, badly corroded, and poses a large safety risk to any personnel on board.The rig was being towed to Singapore for repair and refurbishment.

Meanwhile, winter seas continue to batter the stricken rig, which is directly offshore the Trypot Rockhopper Penguin Rookery to which breeding pairs are now claiming nest sites ready for egg laying in September.

Despite assurances from optimistic salvors, there must be a concern that the rig could break up to an extent that a salvage operation ( to its planned destination of Singapore for repairs ) will not be worth the expense, given the original state of the rig and subsequent damage.

Dives to make environmental assessment - report updated on 25th September
Divers Sue Scott and Geoffrey Fridjohn arrived on the SA Agulhas to carry out dives from the stranded oil rig to make an assessment of any alien marine life it might have brought into Tristan waters. Sue and Geoffrey have made previous studies of the Tristan marine habitat and tristandc.com awaits their findings with interest. Sue Scott is preparing a publication on the Tristan marine ecosystem and it is hoped an illustrated article will appear in the January 2007 Tristan Newsletter.
James Glass, Tristan Head of natural resources reports on 25th September that due to extremely bad weather only two dives have been carried out since their arrival.The first attempt to dive at the rig lasted only ten minutes due to heavy swell, the second, which occurred the next day (22nd September) was more successful lasting 55 minutes, and involved collecting specimens, and taking photos.In the better conditions of lighter swell and slightly improved visibility, they were able to examine the outer legs on the seaward side of the rig.The upright parts of the rig legs were coated with large quantities of dead coral, barnacle and oyster shells, while the horizontal sections had less coral but more oyster and other bivalve shells, amongst them were some live animals.Many of the barnacles (at least three species) at depth were alive, as were some oysters, a few small hard corals, a few large mussels, large dark red anemones, all of which are non-native to Tristan. Collections of all the living biota were made, and will be process in the next few days. The weather has since turn nasty but every opportunity will be taken to carry out more dives at the rig as soon as the weather improves.