Tristan : Tristanians Fear Albatross Deaths as Oil Rig Stays Aground
Submitted by Tristan Times (Sarah Glass) 02.08.2006 (Current Article)

The platform rig that has been washed ashore to the South-East of Tristan da Cunha is still there and pollution from it could cause Albatross mortality.

Photo (c) James Glass (Tristan Times) The rig at present is intact but who knows what the volitile weather in the South Atlantic can do?

TRISTANIANS FEAR ALBATROSS DEATHS AS OIL RIG STAYS AGROUND

By Sarah Glass (Tristan Times)

The Tristan Da Cunha Government has announced that the oil rig that has been stranded on Trypot Reef to the south-east side of the Island isn’t going anywhere.  And further to this, there are fears that any pollution coming from the rig could cause Yellow Nosed Albatross

deaths and other birdlife fatalities on the Island on the outlaying islands of Inaccessible and Nightingale.

Though the rig can be salvaged, the weather cannot.  The rig stays put until there is a window of good weather.

Noting bad weather, officials from the salvage company tasked to remove the rig from the Island said that at this time they were not going to remove it and they have withdrawn the sea-going tug that was supposed to pull the rig off the Island.

As previously reported in Tristan Times, the tug towing the rig from Cape Town for the Brazalian Oil Company, Petrobras, had to release it in bad weather on the 30^th of April this year.  Crew on the tug had the rig in site until 16 May, when it was reported as being lost.  On 23 May the rig was briefly sited again but lost until, on June 7^th Islanders discovered the rig on the reef.

To be fair to the salvage company, SMIT Salvage, they did not anticipate that the weather around Tristan in the winter is volatile.  After being plagued with bad weather and sea conditions the salvage tug, ST ZOURUS HELLAS arrived in Tristan three days late with a salvage crew and assessed the prospects for removal of the rig.

Unfortunately efforts to remove the rig with a single salvage tug were unsuccessful and a second tug was unobtainable.  Stating that they want to wait for better weather, SMIT Salvage withdrew the tug.

The weather around Tristan Da Cunha is expected to change.  In September when the Company say they want to return there will be rough seas and high winds, only they will be coming from a different direction.

Meanwhile, there are fears that the rig could break up, thus causing danger not only to Tristanians but also the abundant wildlife that is indigenous to the area.