There have been no traces of pollution or
environmental damage at or around Deception Island in Antarctica,
the site of the Jan. 30 grounding of Norwegian Coastal Voyage's
Nordkapp, according to NVC and its parent company, the Hurtigruten
Group.
The cruise line
said that after an extensive investigation and analysis of the area
was undertaken by several authorities at the request of the
Hurtigruten Group, all traces of the limited discharge of marine
gas oil from the Nordkapp had disappeared by Feb. 3.
NCV added that this
is consistent with the fact that marine gas oil easily evaporates
and rapidly degrades, helping to minimize any effect a spill may
have on the environment.
The Nordkapp
suffered minor damage to its outer hull after striking underwater
rocks near Deception Island, one of the South Shetland Islands in
Antarctica. There were no injuries to any of the 294 passengers and
crew of 76 onboard at the time.
Taking part in the
spill investigation was the Gabriel de Castilla research station,
located in Port Foster, Deception Island, which had reported that
the water and sand samples were clean and that no traces of
discharge had been found in the area, NCV said. In addition, the
International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators sent
instructions to all ships in the area to report any observed
leakages; to date, no ship has reported observing any leakages, NCV
said.
Two passenger
ships, Hapag-Lloyd's
Hanseatic and Polar Star Expeditions' Polar Star, inspected the
coastline and area near the incident finding no traces of
discharge, and the Hanseatic crew went ashore in eight separate
locations and took sand and water samples, and the samples revealed
no traces of discharge, NCV said.
NCV intends to
carry out a further inspection of the region when its sister ship,
the Nordnorge, visits Deception Island next week. This action is in
line with the recommendations of the Norwegian Polar Institute, NCV
said.
Temporary repairs
were made to the Nordkapp at Maxwell Bay, Antarctica, before the
vessel departed for Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Feb. 7 accompanied
by an escort ship for permanent repairs, according to
NCV.
To
contact reporter Johanna Jainchill, send e-mail to [email protected].