Leaking Oil From Capsized Ship Affecting Wildlife in Antarctica

Researchers have observed “significant effects” on Antarctic wildlife as a result of diesel fuel leaking from an Argentine cruise ship that ran aground last Saturday and then capsized in the middle of the week, the National Science Foundation said Friday.

“The situation here is pretty depressing,” said Ted De Laca, chief scientist in National Science Foundation’s polar programs division, who spoke to reporters by radiotelephone.

De Laca said large numbers of krill, a tiny shrimp-like crustacean that is a key element in the Antarctic food chain, are dying from the pollution and being eaten by birds and other wildlife, which are then poisoned.

A survey of nests of the polar skua, a sea gull-like predator, showed that 40% of the chicks were missing, he said.

A survey of 40 penguins showed that 38 had been immersed in oil. Some oil-coated seals and birds have been found, he added, and limpets along the shore have been dying in large numbers.

The cruise and supply ship Bahia Paraiso is still lying on its side in about 50 feet of water and leaking fuel into the formerly pristine environment at an estimated rate of two gallons per minute, he said.