MV Oliva Revisited
On March 16, 2011, the 75,300 dwt freighter MS Oliva went aground off Nightingale Island which is part the South Atlantic Islands of Tristan da Cunha. The Oliva was bound for Singapore from Santos, Brazil with a cargo of soya beans when it struck a rocky outcrop and firmly aground. The initial grounding caused damage to 4 ballast tanks. All 22 crewmen on board the Oliva were safely rescued by the fishing vessel Edinburgh and cruise ship MS Prince Albert II. Salvage attempt was remotely possible as the nearest salvage team would have to travel from Cape Town, South Africa which was a 5 day voyage. A few days later, the weather worsen with heavy swells causing the vessel to break-in-two.
When the MV Oliva broke up it released some 1,600 tons of heavy fuel oil along with its cargo of soya beans into the waters surrounding Nightingale Island. Reports stated thousands of Northern Rockhopper penguins became coated in the pollution. The efforts to save these birds can be found in this is book.
Two years later, the lifeboat from the MV Oliva washes ashore in South Australia. The lifeboat survived some 12,000 kilometers from Nightingale Island across the southern oceans. Besides some damage to the seats on board, the 7 meter long lifeboat remained intact.
Related articles
- Shipwreck lifeboat washes up in Australia (abc.net.au)
