The Greek-owned 75,000 tonne bulk carrier, MV Oliva ran aground on March 16th at 04.30, at Spinners Point, on the far north-west promontory of Nightingale Island, a 4 square kilometer island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic. The crew of 22 have been taken to safety on Tristan da Cuhna. As of Friday, it was reported that the MV Oliva was breaking up and that all or part of part of her 1,500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil was spilling into the water around Nightingale Island. The MV Oliva was in transit from Santos, Brazil to Singapore with a cargo of soybeans. A salvage tug is on its way from Cape Town and is expected to arrive at Nightingale on the 21st.
Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying 2,816 kilometres (1,750 mi) from the nearest land, South Africa, and 3,360 kilometres (2,088 mi) from South America. There is considerable concern about the environmental and economic impact of the grounding.
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